Freckles
by Coeur de Coquelicot
Summary: "Ohhh..." The girl looked closely at Ace's face, his dark eyes widening as she suddenly got closer. "Freckles... I wish I had some of those," she quietly said with admiration. AcexOC. -Hiatus- but ends at the end of an arc, at least.
1. A Brand New Life

**Chapter 1 v2  
A Brand New Life**

A warm sea-breeze blowing softly on her face, Elisabeth slowly opened her eyes and found herself sighing deeply as she looked at the sky. The azure blue that had been her only sight for the past two weeks was starting to get somehow boring. So boring that she had began to express the wish for a rain, or a tempest, or even a typhoon in order to get a slight bit of excitement.

Using her arms for support, she sat up and folded her long legs wearily. Her eyes scanned her surroundings slowly; she wasn't even surprised anymore to see absolutely nothing in the horizon. Her little boat seemed to be floating on an endless sea and the girl began to wonder if she wasn't just sailing in circles. After all, she had nothing but mere notions of navigation...

Scrambling tiredly to the mast, she looked rapidly through her ration bag and, finding it almost empty, the hungry girl couldn't help but sigh again. If she was called skinny now, before long she would closely resemble a skeleton.

No food, no company, lost on the endless ocean with nothing but blue sea and sky as far as the eye could see, Elisabeth was starting to lose hope, and the memories of the events that lead her to her uncertain voyage began to form slowly in her tired mind. Shaking her head briskly in hope to clear her mind, Elisabeth knew that she couldn't let herself get racked with those terrible images. She had wasted enough energy crying and now she was on hold, floating in uncertainty, she was awaiting to see what fate had planned for her now.

Absently, the girl ran her fingers through her long brown hair, but they were so tangled up that her hand soon ended up stuck in the messy mass.

"This is just _great_..." Elisabeth said wryly.

Wincing, she managed to draw her fingers out of her tousled mane without tearing out too many hair during the painful procedure.

_Might as well sleep.._. Sick and tired, Elisabeth slumped on her back with a short gasp.

The weak girl rolled on her side, and brought her knees to her chest. For two weeks now sleeping had been her main occupation, and she had became quite good at it; being able to sleep almost all day through while at night she gazed at the stars' heart-warming glow.

Lulled by the soft sounds of the waves cradling her boat gently, Elisabeth closed her eyes. Her last thought before falling asleep was a simple wish; to come across an island soon and walk on its ground to start her new life.

* * *

When she opened her green eyes again, Elisabeth was so surprised to see three men standing above her that she closed her heavy eyelids right away, thinking that she was dreaming.

"Oi, wake up !" a voice said.

Either she was starting to have extremely realistic hallucinations or the three men were very real.

Elisabeth opened her eyes once more, rolled on her back, and peered curiously at the may-be-real men. They were all rather tall and muscular. One of them seemed to be in his mid-thirties whereas the other two looked not older than twenty. After a few seconds of silent observation, the drowsy haze fading out at last, she decided to believe that they were very much real, which actually began warming her empty insides with hope; she was soon to be saved, and she won't be dieing of starvation on her little boat.

"Are you alright kiddo ?" the older man asked, reaching out a hand for her to get up. His eyes widened in surprise when he realized how tall she was now that she was standing up.

"I'm fine, don't worry," she said, bowing her head respectfully. "Thank you very much."

Hearing her voice, the three men looked really relieved. _Do I look that miserable ?_

"My name is Elisabeth, nice to meet you," she said politely giving her three saviors a warm smile.

"I'm Joku, and this is my crew," the older man said pointing at the other two, who were smiling happily. "We are fishermen."

After introducing themselves to the girl, the fishermen offered her to come aboard their ship. They attached her small boat to their own and gave her some food as soon as they heard her stomach uttering plaintive growls. Three large rice balls were the offering, and right after thanking them for their kindness, Elisabeth started to eat the more than welcomed meal.

The eyes of the men widened as they watched the girl eating the rice balls; Elisabeth took really small bites, and like any other girls it was kind of charming, but only if they were to watch the scene in slow motion; in less than three seconds, the meal had vanished in the girl's mouth.

"It was delicious, thank you," Elisabeth said, while dusting her clothes of the rice that had fallen on her lap.

Still awing at the girl's eating speed, the men remained speechless for a few seconds before laughing loudly. Elisabeth was aware that her speed was out of the ordinary, yet she wasn't used to provoking such amazement. She gave them a sheepish smile while scratching the back of her head in embarrassment.

Now that her hunger was satisfied, the girl got up and walked over to the railing to observe her surroundings. _At last..._ A hearty smile made its way to her lips as she spotted the shape of an island standing out in the horizon. It seemed rather large, and from the distance, Elisabeth distinguished a long and low chain of mountains covered with greenery.

"This is Dawn Island, our home," Joku said gazing at the island. "We will take you there if that's okay with you."

"Very okay," Elisabeth nodded rapidly. "Thank you," she added as she felt extremely grateful for her salvation.

"You are way too polite, kiddo !" Joku laughed loudly.

* * *

"Awww land..." Elisabeth knelt on the miraculous beach, digging her hands in the sand blissfully. "I've missed you so much !" she said happily.

Joku laughed at the sight of the girl rolling merrily on the sand. It was surely comical for any onlooker but Elisabeth couldn't help herself; she was so happy, and who wouldn't after the ordeal of boredom she had gone through these past two weeks.

"Oi !" Joku called out kindly. "Didn't you say you dreamed of a shower ?"

Elisabeth sat up and nodded. Spending two weeks in her small boat she had only been able to wash herself with salty water and therefore she was more than dirty and dried.

Joku took her to his house located next to the beach; it was a small, rather cute wooden house built on piles. As soon as she set a foot inside, Elisabeth was welcomed warmly by the fisherman's wife who guided her to the bathroom. The woman also insisted in taking care of the girl's clothing, if the dirty rags she had on could still be considered as 'clothes'.

_These people are way too nice_, Elisabeth thought slipping out of her clothes. _I have to find a way to repay the favor._

In her homeland, foreigners were extremely rare, and when they happened to come across the secluded country, the people would treat them with harsh caution, therefore Elisabeth had never thought she could be treated with such kindness. But then again, the outside world was a total mystery for her, and apparently it was way better than what she had been told.

The shower was indeed needed and it felt divinely good. Elisabeth even rated this shower as the best she had ever had. However, she had the hardest time washing her tangled hair. More than once, the girl had been tempted to cut it short, but her family relatives always insisted that she kept them long, claiming that with short hair she would be mistaken for a boy.

_I guess I have no choice now_, Elisabeth thought, smirking at her own reflection.

After drying herself up rapidly, she went through her bag to look for a clean change of clothes first. Light brown short shorts and a blue skinny tank top were her pick. Observing herself in the steamy mirror, the girl was glad to see that her body wasn't too wilted after all.

"Now the hair !" she said cheerfully before searching for her dagger.

Maybe it wasn't the best tool to cut one's hair, but she didn't think it through. But then, Elisabeth never really did for anything anyway.

Keeping an eye on her reflection, the reckless girl took her messy hair within her right hand, and without giving it a second thought, began to cut. Somehow it wasn't as easy as she would have thought, maybe the dagger wasn't sharp enough or maybe daggers weren't supposed to be used to cut hair... Either way, Elisabeth was more sawing than actually cutting, yet she didn't draw back and kept sawing the tangled mass through and through while sticking the tip of her tongue out of the corner of her mouth to increase her dexterity, fruitlessly.

Once she had achieved her goal, a low whistle escaped Elisabeth's mouth as she looked in awe at the monstrous hairy mass dripping wet in her hand. Surely it would never fit in the small bathroom's trashcan. Putting that matter aside she observed her reflection, a frown appearing on her face as she recorded the extent of the damages; scattered tufts sticking up from her untamed mane while crooked wisps of hair framed her face irregularly. Even the lovely beauty spot that rested under her left eye was hidden beneath the dreadful stack.

Obviously she wasn't expecting such an disastrous result, and if Elisabeth had never considered herself as a pretty girl before, now she was utterly ugly. It was only then that the thought of asking for help crossed the heedless girl's mind. However, it was already too late, and it would be a waste of time to linger on the subject any longer; bad haircut or not, a new life was awaiting her, and she couldn't wait to find out what it had to offer.

Elisabeth put her dagger back in her bag, slipped in her flat shoes, and went down to the living room, her former hair in her hand.

"Oh my !" Joku's wife exclaimed loudly, her hand covering her mouth. "What happened dear ?" she asked, touching Elisabeth hair with a frightened frown on her face.

"Nothing really ! Don't worry !" Elisabeth said precipitately. "I just wanted to cut my hair and..." she trailed off with sheepish laugh scratching the back of her head.

"Oh my... Let me fix this," the woman said and Elisabeth could almost picture her begging. "Please !"

Even if she was no hairdresser, Joku's wife did what Elisabeth couldn't help but call a miracle. The woman did not only manage to fix the girl's hair, she also gave her a cute haircut, that even if slightly boyish, completely satisfied Elisabeth.

"You are very cute," she said with a warm smile while peering at the girl's reflection.

_Cute ?_ Surely that was new. Whether it was because of the haircut or the kindness of the woman was uncertain. Yet, the compliment made Elisabeth feel really embarrassed, a soft blush appearing on her cheeks.

"Thank you," Elisabeth said quietly, staring at her knees. "You've been so nice to me..."

Hearing Joku laugh, the girl turned around briskly to look at the fisherman and his smiling wife.

"I'll repay the favor someday, I promise !" she claimed loudly.

When the nice couple asked her what she wanted to do next, Elisabeth told them that she will be looking for a job. During the two weeks spent on her little boat, she had time to think about it; for her new life she would need money and since she was on her own, the only possibility was for her to find a job. Elisabeth had never worked before, but she was a fast learner and did not fear exhaustion. Kindly, Joku informed her that the bartender of the little town was looking for someone. He described her as a really nice lady and offered to introduce her to Elisabeth, to which the girl agreed happily.

* * *

A few colorful cottages lined their way as Joku and Elisabeth walked up the main street of the small village of Fuschia. Seeing a few villagers greeting the fisherman, friendlily the girl smiled back. In that way, it reminded her of her own hometown. Behind the village stood the large chain of mountains she had seen previously, and now that she was closer, she could see several windmills scattered all over its green face, giving the whole scenery a peaceful atmosphere.

"Oi Makino," Joku greeted upon entering the bar. "I think I found someone to help you out." He rested his hand on Elisabeth's small shoulder.

"Nice to meet you," the girl said politely. "I'm Elisabeth."

Makino was in her mid twenties, she was rather small and really pretty. She wore a bandana over her mid-length dark-green hair and her smile was gentle and warm, which instantly lead Elisabeth to consider her as a kind person.

"How old are you ?" Makino asked observing the girl curiously.

"Fourteen..." Elisabeth had replied without thinking and bit her bottom lip feeling that she should have lied on that matter.

"FOURTEEN !" Joku yelled out bewilderingly, his eyes so wide open that it looked like they were going to pop out of their orbits. "But you're so damn tall, kiddo !"

Makino chuckled lightly, apparently amused at the fisherman's loudness, or maybe at the beanpole's flushed face.

"Okay, we'll try this," the bartender began softly, waiting for Joku to calm down. "You'll help me out tonight and then we'll see."

Elisabeth leaped with joy and almost right away thanked the kind fisherman. Everything was going so well, it was almost too easy, yet the girl wouldn't dare complain.

Right after Joku's departure, Makino showed Elisabeth the menu for her to memorize. It was a fairly easy task since it only listed a few dishes, and they were all far from fancy.

Since the establishment was empty, Makino gave the girl a visit of Patty's Bar. Lit by several large windows, the main room contained half a dozen round tables. Across of the entrance stood a wooden bar, and behind it were large cupboards containing bottles of alcohol, plain tableware, and an amazing number of mugs; obviously customers came here to drink rather than to eat. The cupboards were framed by two doors; one leading to Makino's apartments, while the other led to the kitchen. Overall, it was a simple place, yet the girl could easily picture its warm atmosphere while listening to the hearty voice of the lovely bartender.

After giving Elisabeth a plain white apron, Makino explained to her how everything would work, but her speech was interrupted as the first customers of the night entered the establishment.

"You should introduce yourself," Makino said kindly while looking at the group sitting down at a table near the bar.

From what she had managed to observe, it seemed that the town was quite small, and so the sight of a newcomer, a young girl on top of that, rightly rose some questions. Deciding to make a good first impression to her new fellow townspeople, as well as her possible employer, Elisabeth put on a charming smile and walked over to their table under their questioning stares.

"Good evening," she said with a smile. "I'm Elisabeth, the waitress trainee."

To her relief the customers welcomed her warmly. After presenting themselves they put in an order, and Elisabeth went back to Makino to recite their orders while filling the glasses.

"Meat meat meeeeaaaat~ !" a young voice sang quite loudly from outside of the bar.

Elisabeth raised her face from her task, and watched the establishment's entrance questioningly as the singing seemed to get closer. A boy entered the bar briskly, the swing-doors swaying rapidly behind him. He wore a straw hat on his scruffy black hair, and had a scar under his left eye. As he rushed over to the bar-stools with a large grin, Elisabeth tilted her head to the side to watch another black-haired boy entering. He looked older, had shaggy hair, and had an exasperated look on his face.

"Who are you ?" the straw hat kid asked, looking at Elisabeth with large eyes.

"I'm Elisabeth," she replied, shifting her eyes to him. "The waitress trainee."

"Oi Luffy," the older boy said harshly as he hit the younger on the head. "Remember, you have to introduce yourself first."

Watching them, Elisabeth wondered if they were friends or siblings. In any case, their funny interaction made her chuckle lightly.

"I'm Ace," the older boy said, looking at Elisabeth with a small frown. "And this is my little brother, Luffy." He pointed a thumb at the straw hat boy who was rubbing his head with a pouting face.

"Ohhh..." Elisabeth looked closely at Ace's face, his dark eyes widening as she suddenly got closer. "Freckles... I wish I had some of those," she quietly said with admiration.

After giving her a surprised look, the two brothers started laughing as Elisabeth blabbered impulsively on how much she had wanted freckles since forever. But when Makino brought the plates for the first customers, she snapped out of her freckle-laden daze and went to serve the order.

"Good evening Luffy, Ace," Makino greeted warmly watching Elisabeth serving the customers. "So, you've met Elisabeth ?"

"Yup," Luffy said cheerfully. "She's a funny girl !"

to be continued

* * *

_I'm in the middle of a huge revision campaign._

_Around 6 months had passed since I first started this story._  
_It was the very first time I wrote anything (really) therefore it was really clumpsy ? inept ? bad ?_  
_Anyway, now I'm, somehow, getting the hang of it (I think) and I decided it was time to change a few things._

_The five first chapters will be entirely rewritten and I planned some new events so it might be slightly incoherent if you begin to read this story while I'm reworking on the chapters._  
_Sorry._  
_I'll try to be as fast as possible._

_I hope you'll enjoy my story and you can PM or review if you have a question or just feel like it, I'll always answer :)_


	2. Crucial Bet

_Contains minor spoilers from the Post-Marineford arc (chapter 582+)._

* * *

**Chapter 2 v2  
****Crucial Bet**

"More grog miss !" a customer said, holding out three mugs.

"Coming right up," Elisabeth replied cheerfully. She grabbed the mugs and spun on her heels to walk over to the bar, but stopped on the spot as the boy from before was standing right in front of her.

"So, how old are you ?" he asked, peering at her curiously.

_Luffy_, she remembered and put a smile on her face. "I'm fourteen."

At that, the straw hat boy's eyes widened hugely, and the waitress resumed her mission. Walking behind the bar, she put the dirty mugs into the sink, picked up clean ones and as she turned around to fill them, she found Luffy standing on his barstool, his eyes shifting from his brother to her rapidly.

"What ?" they asked in unison, as the boy brushed his hand on the top of their heads as if he was drawing an invisible line.

"She said she's fourteen !" Luffy said quite loudly, he sat down heavily and looked at his brother apparently in need for explanations. "But she's so tall... She's even taller than you !"

"Girls are like that Luffy," Ace said apparently annoyed. "When I'll grow up I'll be taller than her."

"Right..." Elisabeth muttered smugly.

Pouring the grog into a mug, she couldn't help but smirk. Of course she was aware of how tall she was, and seeing a little boy awing at her for that peculiar physical trait felt somehow thrilling. The beanpole had always been proud of being that tall. At first she out-heighted all the girls she knew, then the boys and now she was taller than most of the women she met. She had been called a freak but her height had always made her feel special and in some way, stronger.

Raising her head from the pints, her eyes fell on Luffy's frowning face.

"Even if you're older and taller, I can kick your ass !" he said harshly. He stood up on the barstool again, folded his arms and sneered as he towered the tall girl.

"Really ?" Elisabeth smirked, she liked to bet and that one seemed fairly easy to win. "I bet you can't even _touch_ me..." she said slowly.

Her greens eyes locked onto his, she felt the pride that had left her as she left her country arise again in her chest and, without adding anything more, she went to the customers and served their drinks while restraining herself from looking back as she liked how awesome she had just sounded.

"OKAY !" Luffy yelled out, making all the customers look at him questioningly. "LET'S DO IT !"

xxx

The boy was eager for a fight, sitting on his stool, his legs were dangling restlessly while his eyes followed the waitress as she shuttled back and forth from the bar to the clients. But Elisabeth had to finish her job first and having the little and very arrogant boy watching her so intensely caused impatience to grow in her mind. Picturing the fight, if that could even be called a fight, she was smirking, already savoring her utter victory.

But her jolly mood faltered as she heard the older brother asking his sibling to go easy on her 'because she was a girl'. Despite her young age, Elisabeth was a fervent feminist, the brash kind, and so, this utter lack of respect toward her made her frown scornfully.

"And what do you mean by that ?" she said, almost barking, from behind him, making the raven haired teenager spin on his stool, obviously startled.

"Well... girls are weaker and-"

"He's like half my size..." Elisabeth huffed, pointing a finger at the dwarf while glaring at Ace threateningly. "He doesn't stand a chance."

"Hey ! I'm not that small !" Luffy whined, completely ignored by the two teenagers and their staring contest.

The cheeky girl was now considering giving Ace a lesson, as she would gladly kick his ass too. But he did not seem to take her seriously and, watching his impassible face, anger started burning inside of her.

"You shouldn't underestimate him," he said calmly. "You don't know what he's capable of."

To that, Elisabeth snorted scornfully and resumed her task. In her opinion, _he_ was obviously the one underestimating her. The girl had an ace up her sleeve and was very determined to use it to win that fight.

As most of the customers were gone, Makino called it a night. The barmaid thanked Elisabeth for her help and gave her a small yet very rewarding salary. She also offered the girl to come back to work to the bar on weekends and some nights during the week. Extremely grateful, Elisabeth thanked her happily.

After leaving the bar, the three youngsters were walking up the main street of Fuschia, the two brothers leading the way to a place for the fight. Walking silently under the night sky's sparkling canopy, Elisabeth was glad to see that her new beginning was progressing so well; she was in a nice town, the people seemed to be very welcoming, she had a job, and now, she only had to find a place to live. At that thought, an idea popped in her mind, she looked at the two boys and wondered where they lived. They were apparently freed from parents bonds as they were having diner by themselves in a bar mainly frequented by men.

"So..." Elisabeth began hesitantly. "You live by yourselves ?"

"Something like that," Ace replied evasively, his hands behind his neck, he didn't even bother to look at her.

"We have our own country !" Luffy said proudly.

_Country...?_ Elisabeth wondered what he meant by that, but that didn't really matter. They lived alone and that was all she needed to know.

"So, about that bet..."

"What bet ?" Luffy asked.

"Well, I'm betting that you can't touch me," Elisabeth said and couldn't help the smirk that was making its way on her lips. "So I'll ask something _in case_ I win the bet."

"Okay ! If I touch you, you'll have to become part of my crew !" Luffy said hastily, to what his older brother sighed exasperatedly.

"Your... crew ?" she asked rightly intrigued. Was he a fisherman too, or rather a fisher-boy..? But then having a crew at eleven years old seemed so impossible that she concluded it was probably a sort of game.

"When I'll be older, I'll be a pirate, I'll have a boat, a crew, and then I'll become Pirate King," Luffy said very enthusiastically, his arms moving in all direction as he spoke.

Elisabeth couldn't help but smile heartily as she watched the boy, a face-splitting grin on his childish face. Owner of his own country, dreams of being some kind of pirate king; he was apparently the dreamer kind; her favorite kind.

"Okay !" She nodded cheerfully.

"And you _just_ had to accept..." Ace sighed again and rubbed his forehead, apparently suffering from a headache.

"But if I win I'll stay in your house 'till I find somewhere else to live," she added, ignoring the older brother's comment.

Luffy accepted heedlessly and Elisabeth laughed watching the two siblings fighting. Surely living with them would be extremely fun.

After a few minutes, they came to a stop and Luffy turned around to look at Elisabeth, a large mischievous grin on his childish face. Observing her surroundings, she noticed that they had arrived in a small clearing bordered by trees; the perfect place for hosting a fight.

"Oh, since I'm pretty tired, I give you five minutes," Elisabeth said, putting her bag next to a tree. "If that's okay with you."

"That's more than enough," Luffy said, while cracking his fingers.

His seriousness might have been quite impressive if Elisabeth wasn't so confident and so she smiled while hopping he wouldn't be too disappointed to be so utterly defeated. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Ace leaning against a tree, his arms crossed. He had a frown on his face.

"Freckles will be our referee then," she said playfully, instantly liking the nickname.

The teenager, however, didn't seem to share the girl's opinion as she saw him rolling his eyes quite greatly.

After a round of stretching, the two opponents faced each over, both of them sporting a scornful expression on their faces. Around them silence prevailed giving the fight a grave importance. And maybe it had. Gazing upward, Elisabeth saw the stars shining brightly, as if they were watching her and, at that moment, the girl felt that she _had_ to win, not for her honor, not to give the boy a lesson, but for a deeper, a _greater_ reason.

"GO !" Ace yelled from behind her, snapping Elisabeth out of her thoughts.

Shifting her eyes to Luffy, she wasn't too worried; he was still far and so she would wait for him to come at her. Yet, he launched his fist forward, no way it could hit her from that distance, but to her surprise the fist kept closing in. Her eyes widened seeing his arm stretching; one meter... three... five... Elisabeth took a step to the side just in time to avoid the fist while awing at the length of his limb.

_Devil fruit..._

The girl couldn't believe her eyes, yet it was very real and she found no other explanations for that amazing feat. The arm retracted and Luffy launched another attack. The boy was a few meters away therefore his attacks were fairly easy to predict but, as the fight went on, he was gaining speed. Elisabeth dodged every strike easily, sidestepping skillfully. She saw a frown appearing on his face as his speed increased but so did hers and she wondered; had he figured it out ?

"Three minutes left guys !"

Far from discouraged, the boy grinned and dashed toward her, launching both his fists so fast that she barely dodged the second one and it ended up smashing a tree; the poor thing was blasted away forcibly.

_I guess I really have to dodge those_, she thought, amazed at the little boy's strength. Just what kind of training he had gone through to be so strong at such a young age ? Now she understood quite fully what Ace meant when he had warned her. A devil fruit and his mighty strength; she really had clearly underestimated him, and so she wondered if the older brother also possessed same skills.

"One minute !"

"I'll be serious now," Luffy yelled out. "Gomu Gomu noooooo... Gatling Gun !"

The girl's eyes widened as she was struck with dread; his fists were multiplying and gaining speed. She could hardly follow each and every one of them now and Elisabeth was starting to consider she might lose. Her heart pounding frantically against her ribcage, she tried to increase her speed again but she was reaching her limits. Her muscles were so tensed that pain spread out throughout her body and her movements began to lose their previous grace. A loud gasp escaped her mouth, as she felt a fist brushing against the skin of her arm, and again...

"Time's UP !"

Luffy's stopped his attacks on the spot and Elisabeth collapsed on the ground, panting erratically. She felt her muscles twitching uncontrollably under her sweating skin and winced at the pain of the release. It had been a while since she had experienced such a state of excitement during a fight, and the boy was only eleven years old.

_What a monstrous ability_, she thought, running her fingers through her sweaty bangs.

"That was unexpected," Ace said, walking up to the girl.

Rolling wearily her head to the side, she saw the two brothers smiling quite broadly at her.

"Well... thanks..." she replied, slowly catching her breath. "It was... quite.. un.. expected.. for me... too."

xxx

A minute later, Elisabeth had recovered her emotions, and the three youngsters sat down on the grass. Enjoying the summer night's freshness.

"So..." She turned her head to look at Luffy. "I guess you ate one of those fruits," she said, in need for a confirmation.

"Yup !" Luffy said proudly. "Gomu Gomu; I can stretch now." And as if to demonstrate, he stretched out his cheek.

"You ate one too, didn't you ?" Ace asked.

"You _did_ !" Luffy looked rather incredulous, his eyes widened in surprise, he stared at Elisabeth who found herself chuckling amusedly as she thought that he would have figured that out while he was fighting her. "Which one ?" he asked eagerly.

"Kyuu Kyuu," she replied, bringing her knees to her chest. "It gave me speed."

Luffy grinned at her, his wide eyes now sparkling with amazement, but his brother did not seem so impressed. His freckled face remained impassive as he looked upward and, gazing at the teenager, Elisabeth wondered if he had eaten one too. She was about to ask him when she felt Luffy tapping her shoulder.

"That's sooo cool !" he said, his excitement shining in his childish voice. "Now I _really_ have to make you my crewmate !"

A little smile on her face, she wondered if it was only a little boy's dream. In any case, his fervor was praiseworthy and somehow, contagious. Ever since she had left her country, Elisabeth had forgotten about her own dreams but, watching Luffy, a warm sensation arose inside of her as they came back in her mind. Her dreams were grand; she wanted to discover everything that the world had to offer. Find out with her own eyes if the legends that she had read in books were real, meet with mystical creatures, and witness impossible mysteries.

"The swimming thing is quite a bummer though," Elisabeth said quietly, gazing at the stars.

"Well I guess... you..." Ace mumbled and the girl looked at him questioningly. "Guess you'll...with..." Slowly, he fell backward and hit the grass with a muffled thud.

Rightly startled, Elisabeth gaped at him quickly understanding that he had fallen asleep as he was breathing peacefully. But how could that be ? He was speaking. Who falls asleep in the middle of a sentence ? Unlike her he didn't even fight... And so, she shifted her questioning gaze to his little brother, in search for an explanation.

"He falls asleep like that sometimes," Luffy said as if it was the most natural thing in the world and stood up.

Without further explanations, they grabbed Ace's limbs and lifted him up. Elisabeth followed the boy as he led the way to their house. They went out of the forest and walked up a pathway leading to the top of a mountain. The windmills seemed quite distant now and she wondered just how far they lived from the village.

As they reached the mountaintop, Elisabeth stared in awe at the grand view; encircled by the low chain of mountains was a town, more than a town, it was a city, a _huge_ city. Of course the girl had never seen such a large city in her life, her small island had only one small town and it resembled Fuchsia a bit. Nestled within the chain of mountains, the metropolis was surrounded by tall walls. Most of these buildings were the tallest she had ever seen and, in the middle, towering the city, was erected a gigantic palace.

"You..." Elisabeth swallowed hard, dazed at the magnificent sight. "You live there ?"

"Nop'."

The girl was somehow relieved by the reply. She was a simple girl after all, and even if she was utterly astonished by the metropolis' beauty, she couldn't picture herself living there.

"We've arrived," Luffy said.

Ungluing her eyes from the city, Elisabeth was glad to see a large wooden house. It was simple and slightly worn out but _there_ she could live, quite easily in fact. A large smile on her face, she dropped Ace's ankles and walked over to the door.

"Don't go there !" Luffy urged, making the girl spin on her heels and tilt her head to the side questioningly. "We live here." He grinned, pointing a cabin standing next to the house.

Planks of all kind and shapes nailed together better fitted the description than cabin, though, and it was small, so small that the girl had thought it was some kind of garden shed. Its poor condition made her wonder if he was kidding, but upon observing it more attentively she saw two signs nailed on the wall; 'Ace's Country' 'Luffy's Country' was what was written on them.

Luffy was standing in front on the door-less 'doorway' and, by his side, Ace slowly awoke with a loud yawn.

"Damn..." he said looking around groggily. "I fell asleep ?"

But Elisabeth barely heard him as she burst out in laughter. Luffy, she could understand, he was still a kid, but Ace was a bit older than her and the 'country' thing was so childish. The two brothers looked at her questioningly as she fell on the ground convulsing from her laughing fit. Why did they live there when they had this huge house that now seemed so luxurious next to the crappy shed ? And soon she found her answer as a large woman stormed out of the mansion.

"NOISY RASCALS !" she yelled angrily. "Keep it quiet ! People are trying to sleep here !"

Her laughing fit dying quickly, Elisabeth looked at her; she was a tall and over-weight woman. She had long curly hair and a rather masculine face. She was soon joined by a few men standing behind her, making her look even more threatening.

"Who called you Dadan !" Ace barked, frowning at the woman. "Get your nose out of our business !"

_So I guess they aren't friends..._ Elisabeth noted, watching their argument silently. Apparently not all the people from the outside world were friendly.

"Did you bring another brat ?" the woman snarled and looked at the girl scornfully. "And what is that ? Boy or girl ?"

_BOY ?_ Instantly, Elisabeth's face darkened. It had been a while since she had been mistaken for a boy, probably all thanks to her long hair, but now it was cut short, her sex was harder to define. Anger boiling inside of her, she clenched her fists forcibly.

"What about you !" she asked, looking at the woman in disgust. "Are those boobs or just FAT ?"

"LITTLE SHIT !" Dadan grabbed a long handled axe and hurled it in the girl's direction.

"Just try and hit me FATTY !" Elisabeth shouted on top of her lungs, easily avoiding the hit.

A frantic chase ensued. Yelling insults at each other, the two angered females kept on fighting under the eyes of the two brothers and men, none of them daring to interfere. Elisabeth was furious, and did not care if the woman was supposed to host her. She would even gladly hit her if she wasn't lacking energy. As her fight with Luffy had already pushed her to her limits and now she was running solely on her rage.

But rage did not seem to be enough and Elisabeth was starting to feel dizzy. She could just run away from the harpy, but her honor was at stake and couldn't draw back. Her vision blurred and the sound of the yells started to fade out. The girl felt herself falling and the darkness engulfing her gradually.

_Damn..._

* * *

Upon waking up, Elisabeth felt pain all over her body, but nothing serious hopefully, apparently the mean woman wasn't unscrupulous and did not hit the unconscious girl when she had the opportunity. Upon parting her eyelids, she winced at the harsh sunlight blinding her.

"Your cheeky friend is awake." She heard someone yell.

Slowly getting used to the light, Elisabeth noticed that she was in a house, probably the woman's, lying on a futon. She soon saw Luffy's grinning face as he was standing above her.

"Morning Eli !" he cheerfully said.

"Eli ?" Elisabeth repeated drowsily while sitting herself up.

"Told you Luffy, you can't _name_ her..."

Turning her head to the side, she saw Ace sitting against the wooden wall. He had a small frown on his freckled face and, somehow, it made her smile.

"No, it's okay." She nodded contentedly. "Eli..." she said slowly as if to taste her new name. "I like it !"

to be continued

* * *

**Betaed by Fox MC.**

_The events in this chapter barely changed from the first version. I rewrote it entirely, though, to add more details and dialogs._

_I also changed the two boys' home since now (after reading the Post-Marineford arc) we know how / where they lived; Dadan, the cabin, Goa Kingdom, etc..._

_Thanks for reading and review, please ? I love reading your reactions and I always reply._


	3. Wish Upon A Star

_Contains minor spoilers from the Post-Marineford arc (chapter 582+).

* * *

_

**Chapter 3 v2****  
Wish Upon A Star**

Eli liked gentle wake-ups. Hearing someone calling her name softly, she would even accept a light touch on her shoulder. Ace knew that and, therefore, he was usually the one waking the girl up. However, sometimes, some dreadful times, Luffy would get impatient as the sun rose high in the horizon and, when he had decided that the girl had slept enough, the boy would shook her harshly, while calling out her name quite loudly. This was one of those mornings.

"ELI !"

Her jade eyes cracked open, her face wincing at the loudness of the boy.

"Wake up !" Luffy said cheerfully.

As her vision quickly became clearer, Eli saw his wide grin and, no matter how cheerful his face was, she wouldn't let herself become softened by his childish face. With a loud gasp, she hurled her fist in his face, its rubbery consistence deflecting the blow on the spot.

"I'M GONNA KILL YOU GOMU-MORON !" Eli yelled before watching the rubber boy fleeing from the cabin, his carefree laugh resonating through her ears.

Almost two years had passed since her arrival on Dawn Island, and Eli never left the two brothers' side. She and Ace were sixteen years old then, Luffy was thirteen. They had all grown up, even the girl, to everyone's amazement. She was now taller than almost every villager, even as tall as Dadan, the black-haired teenagers' foster mother.

"Morning Twig," Ace greeted as the girl finally got out of the cabin.

"Morning Freckles." Eli yawned loudly while stretching out her arms, walking over to a small stream of water running not too far from the cabin to have her usual morning wash.

'Twig' was the nickname that the freckled teenager had gave her in retaliation for 'Freckles'. Although it was obviously insulting, it fitted the girl appearance quite well; very tall, very skinny, and extremely curve-less, she was the perfect picture of a twig. Ace was the only one to call her that and, even if he had given it to her in an attempt to annoy her, Eli profoundly liked the nickname. After all, it seemed fair enough. As the time passed, the girl had found herself annoying the teenager playfully. She liked mocking Luffy too, but the boy was so dense that he always took her mockeries to the letter. Ace on the other side was a worthy opponent for her facetious remarks, and their witty banters soon became their usual way of communicating.

And so, even though the three teenagers fought everyday, Eli had quickly grown attached to the two black-haired brothers and considered them as her new family.

By living with Ace and Luffy and joining their daily training, Eli had gained speed, agility, resistance and even strength, but sadly, not an ounce of femininity. Life in the wild was harsh. Training in the merciless environment of the jungle of Mont Corvo, the teenagers faced savage creatures everyday, feeding on their meats; the survival of the fittest was the only rule that applied there.

Even if her growth was praiseworthy, the two brothers' were just utterly amazing. Despite the fact that he did not possess the power of a devil fruit, Ace was the strongest of the three and his lack of devil powers had found itself extremely useful since the other two just seemed to keep falling in the water, giving the freckled teenager the important and very annoying position of the lifeguard.

After her morning ritual, Eli walked back to the cabin for a change of clothes. Her fashion sense did not budge an iota within those two years; short shorts and skinny t-shirts for summer, and during the winter times she wore jeans, sweaters, a coat, gloves, a scarf, and earmuffs as she had discovered that she was extremely sensitive to cold while facing her first hibernal season.

"Today's the day I'm gonna beat you !" She heard Luffy taunt from the outside.

Slipping her head through the curtain that she had installed for privacy purposes, Eli saw him standing proudly in front of the cabin, his fist resting on his hips. Looking at him, she wondered if he would be right this time. Ever since their first fight, Luffy had been challenging the girl everyday, and she kept winning by a hair's breadth. Yet, he was getting closer, and closer with every duel, and Eli was seriously considering that she might lose anytime soon.

"I'm working today Luffy," she said, while resuming to her simple dressing.

Slipping inside her shorts, she pouted, seeing that the fabric was scratched, and picked another pair as she always tried to be as presentable as possible when she was working at the bar. Eli rapidly brushed her short hair and stepped out of the cabin, finding Luffy now challenging his older brother.

"We'll fight tonight, okay ?" Eli offered, to which Luffy nodded contentedly. "See ya !"

Wind fluttering through her messy mane, she was running down the mountain at a comfortable pace. Upon arriving at the pleasant village of Fuschia, she slowed down and saluted the townspeople with a cheerful smile. They were all very good people, hard workers, and trustworthy, and so Eli had easily found herself rather attached to them and the lovely town them lived in.

Entering the Party's Bar, she was warmly welcomed by Makino. The woman had been extremely nice with Eli, and she was the only female figure the boyish girl had ever had. Comprehensive, the barmaid never tried to change her though, and was considered like a big sister by the three teenagers. Makino was feeding them whenever they wanted, giving the two brothers' clothes and politeness lessons while always sporting a gentle smile on her pretty face; she was the exact opposite of the manly and bossy Dadan.

The foster mother did not seem to care the least for her two sons, and Eli even less. However, the harsh woman was sometimes showing a soft side whenever one of the teenagers ended up injured during their life-threatening training. And somehow, they had affection toward the mountain bandit, even though they never admitted it out loud.

Overall, Eli loved her new life and would not change a thing for the entire world, except maybe for the cabin they slept in. It wasn't that bad two years ago, but now that she had grown up, the girl had found herself longing for a bit of privacy. But in the end, it didn't really matter; after all, it was only a place to sleep when they weren't bivouacking outside.

Eli put her apron on, tried once more to tame her unkempt hair, and walked over to the first customers of the day.

Yes, she loved her new life, and she loved the two black haired brothers even more. Silently, Eli wished silently that she could stay by their sides forever.

* * *

Once the noon shift was over, Eli packed a small lunch and dashed out of the tavern. The summer sun was high up in the sky and its rays burnt on the pale girl's skin. Accelerating her pace, she soon saw the library and entered the establishment briskly, enjoying the freshness prevailing in the dark room.

"Hello Elisabeth," the librarian greeted warmly.

A soft smile on her face, Eli nodded and swapped her bag in front of her. For a few seconds, she searched through the mess and made a little joyful sound as she found the two books she was looking for. Dusting their covers carefully, she walked over to the librarian's wooden desk and put the books down.

"Thank you." Eli pushed the book toward the grey haired woman. "They were really great !"

The old woman chuckled and put the books in a cart behind her.

"I'm afraid I already lend you most of the legend books I own." The woman turned around a small book in her wrinkled hands. "But maybe you could read this."

A large smile on her face, the woman held out the book. Hearing her chuckle, Eli was slightly suspicious. She curled her fingers around the cover and silently read its back while the librarian covered her chuckling mouth.

Feeling a little tight around it, Eli cleared her throat. "It is... _romance_, right ?"

"It is my dear," she confirmed, the smile on her face widening along with Eli's embarrassment.

"Thank you." Eli put the book on the counter. "But I don't read those... _things_."

The librarian adjusted her small glasses of her nose and nudged the book in her direction.

"It's a good way to learn, Elisabeth," the elderly said, the warmth of her voice softening the scold.

_Why would I even want to learn those things...?_ Eli wondered. Silently, she stared at the book while chewing on her bottom lip.

But it was only a book after all. Eli reckoned that the light wrench on her guts was a rather inappropriate emotional display toward a set of printed pages. No matter what kinds of words were printed, in the end, it was only a book.

With a deep sigh, the girl picked the book and, once more, analyzed its cover under the gentle gaze of the librarian.

"I could give it a try..."

A squeal escaping from her wrinkled lips caused Eli to look at the grey haired woman with surprise. Maybe that wasn't only a book after all... Yet, she had already admitted her defeat and as her stomach uttered a loud growl, the girl put the novel in her bag and thanked the librarian.

"You wont regret it," she said as she waved the girl goodbye.

Villagers coughed, their hair fluttering wildly, as Eli dashed through the town, a large cloud of dust arising behind the girl's path. Soon, she reached the forest, shadow patches covering her on the spot, and the paramecia slowed down her pace. A smile crept on her lips as she spotted her favorite 'reading' tree. She took her lunch box out of her bag along with the little book and sat down, settling her back comfortably against the large and protective trunk.

Half of her meal was still inside of her lunchbox for a moment. Absently, Eli was sucking on her empty spoon while her jade eyes, wide open, were rapidly gliding over the words.

It was a love story. About some noble girl and her childhood friend. He had become a pirate when they were only teenagers and their paths had separated on a bittersweet kiss. The noble girl had made her life, burying her feelings for her old friend deep inside of her. But, on the night before her wedding day, he had come back. Out of nowhere, he had appeared on her balcony.

The noble girl was shaken, obviously. It had been years since she had last seen him, but she had never really forgotten him. Not with the delicious memory of his kiss haunting her dreams at night. But she was arrogant and very determined not to let the young man destroy the comfortable life she had.

Like a spoiled princess, she mocked him; ignoring how attractive he had became, and demanded him to leave. Smugly, he was laughing at her, telling her how beautiful she was, and the girl was shaken by his charms.

"_...simmering within the tender warmth of his kiss..._"

Eli's eyes widened. She was positive, the voice wasn't the one reading the words inside of her head, it had came from above her, it was deep and tinged with an hint of mockery.

Her face rose upward and she slammed the book closed.

_Ace..._

"_The noble girl was losing her footage as a whirlwind of pleasure washed over her to the tips of her toes..._?" Ace barely finished his sentence as laughs got in the way of his words.

Now staring at the stupid, _stupid_ book, Eli's face was flushed. She was beyond mortified, and utterly voiceless as words of excuse, insults, and frantic yelling jostled in her head while Ace was roaring with laughter, keeping his balance by supporting his convulsing body on the tree's trunk.

In a hard, reverberating, heartbeat, she put her belongings back in her bag, stood up, and found herself stunned on her feet. He was laughing, laughing at _her_, it was unbearable to an extreme degree; never had the girl felt so wounded. First, the thought that it was all so very unfair considering it wasn't even _her_ book occupied her mind, and then, anger splashed over her; how could he find it hilarious that a girl was reading a love story ? Surely, she wasn't the first and definitely not the last.

"What's SO funny ?" Eli swirled around and blasted a glare of pure hatred at the raven-haired teenager, who was still howling. Tears forming in the corner of his eyes, his forehead was pressed against the tree while he was holding his bare abdomen. "Tell me _ACE_ ! What is so funny !" she barked, squeezing her eyelids as she did.

His convulsions weakened as he slowly rolled his head to look at her. Rage was painted across the girl's face. Her red cheeks had now turned dark crimson, her lips were parted as she was panting in distress, and her lovely jade eyes were glowing, slightly watery with the heavy and throbbing sensation swelling inside of her chest.

"I can't believe..." Ace wiped the tears in the corner of his eyes. "I can't believe you read that stuff !" His voice, a bit too loud, was still filled with amusement and grated on the girl's ears.

"Why ? Why is it so hard to believe that I read this... that..." Eli found it hard to mouth the type of book had been reading. "LOVE stuff ?" she finished in a shout.

Ace seemed taken aback by the _L word_. His eyes grew wider for a few seconds as he stared at the humiliated girl. Lifting his hand to his mouth, he cleared his throat and grabbed his shaggy mane while rolling his eyes away.

"It's just..." He wasn't looking at her and it made Eli's hostility grow sharper. "Not _you_... you know...?"

Through her burning mind, Eli knew that he was right; romance didn't fit the boyish girl she was. But having _him_ judging what was fitting or not for her was still very insulting.

"Because I'm not a girl ?" she said harshly, throwing her hands in the air as she spoke.

Seeing him speechless again, Eli turned around to leave. Her feet kicked the ground with force in an attempt to release a bit of her rage with her every footfall. The waitress wanted to go back to the tavern, focus on her work and forget about the stupid teenager. She could have disappeared in a flash, but she had yet to leave him behind. A raw wrench on her guts as a pain remained underneath of her skin; she wanted him to see her as a girl, like any other, with heart and emotions. She wanted him to excuse himself, even if she wasn't ready to accept his apologies.

But as she walked away, Eli, somehow, knew that Ace wouldn't apologize. And then, unexpected, the sound of muffled footfalls reached her ears, and a small light shone inside of the girl's heavy heart.

Ace grabbed her shoulder and, as warmth spread from where his hand was, her muscles loosened. Silently, Eli came to a stop but refrained herself from turning around. A hand on her bag, she brushed the leather absently.

"I'm sorry." His hand lifted. "I know that you're a girl but..." Ace paused as he took a large intake of air and released a long sigh. "You're not like the others... You're... you're special, Twig."

_Special ?_ That was vague. The adjective could mean absolutely everything and the exact opposite. Yet the tone of his voice was warm with embarrassment and it eased the girls ache on the spot.

"Talking about 'special'..." Her hands behind her back, Eli swirled on her toe, a large grin plastered on her face. She leaned in his direction and stuck the tip of her tongue out playfully. "Don't you have some bowl of soup to drown into ?"

The two teens' witty banters washed away the awkwardness yet, as she walked back to the tavern, Eli promised herself to never, _ever_ read another romance novel... once she finished this one, of course.

* * *

The afternoon was slow in the Party's Tavern. Once the washing-up and general cleaning was done, the barmaid and her waitress played cards while waiting for the customers to show up. Through the windowpanes, the light slowly weakened as the sky took on a warm orange tinge, and soon, the wooden swing-doors hinges mewed, awaking the establishment and their workers out of their lethargy for the evening to begin in Fuschia tavern.

Once the night shift was over, Eli stepped out of the bar and found Luffy and Ace waiting for her in front of the establishment; it was time for her duel.

The tree teenagers went over to the beach to fight. Walking silently, the girl looked up at the sky. It was almost two years ago when she had first fought with Luffy, and her victory had given her so much. Nostalgic, the girl took a deep intake of air to fill herself with the warm summer scent.

The full moon was lighting the beach brightly, and the sound of the waves was soothing. Upon arriving to a large part of the beach, the two opponents faced at each other, a smile on their faces and nodded simultaneously.

"Bring it on," Eli said, moving her fingers tauntingly.

Luffy did not wait another invitation, and sporting his familiar grin on his face, started launching his attacks smartly. Focused on his movements, all the girl's senses were dedicated to predict and evade his every blow. One hit and she would lose. One hit was all Luffy needed to impose his superiority on her. Of course, Eli was proud, and very gutsy, but she wasn't heedlessly arrogant anymore. That was one of the things she had learned while watching the two brothers. Even if she would never admit it out loud, they were amazing, fearless, and so strong. By their side she had first felt weak, but they never looked down on her, and she had her own strengths; her speed was out of this world, and so she had concentrated all of her training to draw the best of her ability.

Dodging his every attack gracefully, Eli tried not to feel too threatened when she felt his fists grazing her skin. If she happened to lose her focus, even if it was only for a split second, she would be done for.

Sidestepping at an amazing speed, Eli was in a place where only she and Luffy existed. Ace had disappeared, along with the trees, the waves, and the stars. She could hear Luffy's every breath, she could see his fists multiplying around her in slow motion, and she moved around them just in time to avoid the blows.

The boy was a machine. Never showing a sign of fatigue, he kept attacking over and over again, but she was one with the wind; uncatchable, invisible, light, and free.

Eli was used to fighting him now. After two years she knew his every attack, and from the position he took, the direction in which his black eyes looked, she knew exactly where he was going to strike. But when Luffy crouched, the girl was snapped out of her trance.

_What the..._

The rubber boy threw a whip-like leg attack that she had never seen before and, instinctively, she jumped high up to avoid being swept away. But how stupid she was; Luffy had obviously planned her reaction and launched his fist in her direction.

Eli's green eyes widened with dread. In slow motion, she saw his fist closing in as she was still in the air. The girl was incapable of accelerating her fall and it was going to hit her, hard.

Slowly, the fist came in contact with her stomach, and gradually it sunk deeper. She felt her guts contracting under the forceful blow, air escaping her mouth with a loud gasp as her lungs squeezed. The pain jerked her out of her speed, and she was blown meters away, remaining in the air for two seconds before hitting the ground roughly, gliding a few more meters on the sand.

"ELI !"

She heard the rapid footfalls of the two brothers, but her vision was blurred. Trembling, she stood on her hands and knees, spasms making her cough blood several times.

"Are you alright ?" Luffy asked, he crouched by her side and looked at her with worry.

Slowly nodding, she sat down and wiped the blood of her mouth with the back of her hand. Her guts were still upside down and her heart harshly pounding in her stomach, Eli could not find the strength to talk.

It hurt... In both her body and her mind. That was it. She was defeated and it only took one single hit.

Putting a smile on her face, she looked at Luffy, deeply. He was so young yet so strong, and it made Eli wonder just how strong he would become with one more year, or three. His dreams were amazing, but so was he.

"I guess I have to call you captain now," she said quietly as the wrench in her stomach made it hard for her to talk.

A large face-splitting grin appeared on the boy's face, and somehow it surprised her. Did he still want her even though she was so weak ?

"My first crew member !" he yelled out cheerfully. The boy stood up and, ecstatic, he threw his fists high up in the air.

His jolly mood was contagious, like always, and raised the girl's spirits. Eli wasn't so surprised to find herself chuckling while watching him so happy. And after all, losing wasn't so bad, it had been a while since she had decided she would join his crew and now it was decided.

Luffy went home, but Eli wanted to enjoy the summer night. Well, that was what she said, but in reality, she still felt quite weak and felt that she needed to rest a bit before being able to walk. Shifting a bit forward she put her feet on the wet sand, the waves lapping her skin lovingly.

Seeing Ace sitting next to her, she turned her head to look at him wondering why he was still here. Was he worried ?

"I'm fine," she said with a smile. "You can go home."

"I know," he said quietly, his eyes lost in the distance.

With a sigh, she let herself fall on her back, nestled her hands behind her neck, and glanced at the teenager sitting next to her. Sometimes Ace acted just as childishly and heedlessly as Luffy, but there was other times, just like then, when he had an unreadable look on his face. He would remain silent, staring into space and then Eli would wonder what was going through his mind.

"Do you know stars, Freckles ?" she asked, now looking at the twinkling canopy.

"Yeah, shinny dots in the sky."

Eli shook her head. "I mean their names and stories."

"Stories ?"

A smile crept on the girl lips as she saw Ace looking at her questioningly.

"Let's see..." She made a quiet thinking sound. "Let me tell you about Vega and Altair."

Eli told the black-eyed teen the story of the two celestial lovers. Vega was a weaver girl, daughter of the Jade Emperor in heaven. Every day, using her magical robe, she descended on earth to bathe. She would slip out of her robe and dive into a stream of clear water. Every day, she would enjoy this bath peacefully and return to the heavens thanks to her magical robe, until, one day, Altair caught sight of the weaver girl. It was love at first sight and so that she wouldn't leave the Earth, the cowherd stole her robe and Vega could not return to her home.

Despite her ire, the weaver girl fell in love with the mischievous cowherd, and so, the two lovers married.

When he was informed of that union, the Jade Emperor in heaven's wrath tainted the skies. Vega was supposed to live in heaven and spend her days weaving colorful clouds, not marring a lowly mortal. Furious, he torn Vega from Altair's embrace. But the cowherd was courageous and followed his wife into the heaven. Unfaltering, the Jade Emperor tore the skies apart, creating a wide rive to separate the lovers forever.

The Milky Way flowing between them, Vega and Altair sat on each shore, sadly gazing at the other side while hoping to catch a glimpse of their lost love.

Touched by his daughter's melancholy, the Jade Emperor relented. Once a year, on the seventh day of the seventh month, he allowed the weaver girl and the cowherd to meet.

"The seventh day of the seventh month..." Eli repeated quietly. "It's my birthday."

"It's in two weeks," Ace said, to which Eli nodded, her eyes focused on the two lovers who would soon be reunited. "And what do you want for your birthday, Twig ?" he asked, smiling at the girl.

"I wish... I could swim again..." she said, liking the fresh sensation of the waves on her feet.

That was the one thing that she hated about her devil fruit ability. Before eating it Eli liked to swim, almost as much as she liked to run. Swimming in the ocean felt so good, and she missed it.

"But I guess that's impossible." She looked at him with a broad smile. "Maybe a huge chocolate cake then !"

Ace smiled and leaned backward, his arms supporting his upper body.

"With my name on it and everything !" She pouted lightly, making light, scolding motions with her finger.

Ace laughed warmly. "Sure thing !"

to be continued

* * *

**Betaed by Fox MC.**

_This chapter was entirely rewritten and the number of words had been multiplied four times !_

_I also added two new scenes but if it's the first time you read it, I think you don't really care :)_

_I know I have written a lot more chapters but I still enjoy reviews on the old ones, furthermore if they have been rewritten :)  
_


	4. Chapter 4

**Freckles  
****chapter 4**

Lying comfortably between her sheets, Eli could hear them talking behind the wooden door.

"No Luffy, for her birthday we let her sleep in as much as she wants !" the older brother ordered.

"But she's gonna miss the party" the younger one pouted.

Hearing them fighting, the girl chuckled under her blanket.

"I'll go eat her cake then !" Luffy said. The sound of his footfalls fading out; he was walking away.

Throwing her sheets and blanket aside on the spot, Eli snapped out of her bed and dashed over to the door to stop the glutton.

"LUFFY !" she yelled out, slamming the door open.

A blood rush making her head spin, Eli dizzily tried to catch the straw-hat boy but her body was still numb, thus, the girl ended up falling on her face. The two brothers burst out in laughter pointing the poor girl lying on her stomach.

* * *

The party was hosted in Makino's bar; there was a lot of food, friends, music, and laughter.

As for the cake, well it was the biggest chocolate cake Eli had ever seen. The icing sparkled like the stars, the heavenly chocolate scent filled the girl's heart like nothing before, and, of course, the taste, well it was simply sublime.

_Perfect_, Eli thought as she looked around, a large smile plastered on her childish face.

"Oi Twig !" Ace called out harshly. "I've got something for you." Without another word, the teen walked in the direction of the bar's entrance.

Speechless, Eli looked at him with questioning eyes. "Hu ?"

The doors swinging behind him, the girl reluctantly put her plate down and she followed the teen.

As she slowly climbed down the few wooden stairs, Eli peered at Ace. His back facing her, she heard a little rustle of paper. Briskly, the black-haired teen turned around and tossed her a little blue bag. Curious, the birthday girl looked inside.

_A swimsuit...?_

"Makino chose it !" Ace said, scratching the back of his head.

Her gaze left the bag's content as Eli raised her head to look at him. Confused, she bit her bottom lip. "But I can't swim," she said obviously puzzled by the teen's gift.

"I know that. I'll swim for you," Ace simply replied resting a hand on his hip.

Even though his tone of voice was slightly harsh, a bright sensation lit up inside of her upon hearing the words. Eli felt a grin creeping on her lips, and, without a word, the girl ran behind a bunch of trees to change.

It was an azure blue two-piece swimsuit. As she slipped inside of the tube top, Eli reckoned that it had been years since she hadn't wore a swimsuit, and again, why would she ? The girl had lost her ability to swim a long time ago.

_Too long..._

Her heart was pounding with excitation as Eli ran over to the beach. Her bare-feet digging into the sand, she soon found Ace sitting on the beach. Silently, he was gazing at the sea. His usual open shirt had been removed and was now resting to his side, fluttering softly upon the passage of a warm, sea breeze.

Her pace slowed down as Eli walked up to the teen. "Well how do we do this ?" she asked crossing her arms as she spoke.

His head turned around and Ace stoop up. Eli felt his dark gaze on her, a tad more intrusive than usual, his eyes trailed up her body before settling on the jade of her orbs.

"I'll carry you and..."

"Bridal style ?" Eli asked mockingly, lifting her hands to her cheeks.

"...no Twig..." Ace sighed deeply.

His annoyance was obvious and it made her chuckle; it was so easy to make him lose his temper. Putting a smile on her warm face, Eli nodded. "Okay then, let's do it."

Ace turned around and Eli climbed on his back. Securely, she wrapped her arms and legs around him. Expectancy, shoot up in her mind as he started to walk in the direction of the shore.

Slowly, the black-haired teen strode into the sea. Salty water enveloping Eli gradually, a shiver shook her body as the coldness reached her stomach and, already, the girl felt her body going numb.

"Are you okay ?" Ace asked turning his head slightly to the side as he spoke.

"Yeah... Hey, what if you fall asleep in the water ?" Without her consent, Eli's voice was softer than usual, the words passed slowly out of mouth in the form of a whisper.

"I won't. Don't worry, Twig," Ace said warmly.

As they reached an acceptable depth he began to swim. The sound of the waves was soothing and Eli's train of thought gradually diluted in the salty water. Whether it was due to the effect that the sea had on her now that she had eaten a devil fruit or the fact that her body was draped on the teen's warm back was unknown. Eli wallowed in the gentle feeling of the fresh water's caress as well as the warmth of the sun on her pale skin; she had missed that feeling.

"Oi, are you feeling sleepy ?" she asked softly, trying to keep her mind awake.

"Nope."

As the minutes passed, Eli felt herself becoming heavier, Ace had now to hold her arms around him so that she wouldn't slip away.

"Oi... Are you feeling sleepy now ?" she asked again.

"Nope" He smiled.

Drowsiness further taking over her, Eli wanted to savor this wonderful moment a bit longer; she wanted to enjoy it to the fullest. "...Ace... dive... please..." she asked really slowly.

It was probably a very bad idea but he did, and as they went underwater, the boy let go Eli's arms for a second. The girl felt her body sinking in the salty infinity as well as the blackness of her mind; a soundless and soft void. Was that how death felt ?

A hand caught her in her fall, strong and warm, it brought her back to reality. Eli opened her jade eyes, her orbs scorching within the saltiness, and Ace appeared in her blurry field of vision. A few seconds later, as her head broke through the surface of the sea; the devil fruit user drew a large intake of air. She was, once again, wrapped around the teen's body.

Clumsily, Ace brought her back to the shore, and laid the girl on the hot sand before slumping to her side. The two teens were panting loudly, lying side by side on the beach, the bright light of the sun warming up their glistening bodies.

As her breaths became more regular, Eli rolled her head toward Ace. He was staring upward, salty beads trailing down his slightly tanned skin. Gazing at his lovely freckled face, a smile crept on the girl's lips.

"Thank you Freckles," she said, happiness shinning in her weak voice. "It was really the best."

* * *

The next morning, Eli found herself blessed with another gift.

"What made you change your mind ?" the girl asked, slightly skeptical.

"You don't want it ?" Ace frowned. "You've been pestering about wanting your own room ever since you arrived."

"I know, but- HEY !" Eli slapped Luffy's hand as it was approaching dangerously from her breakfast. "But you always refused. I don't under-"

"You want it or not ?" Ace interrupted harshly.

For a few seconds, the girl stared at the black-haired teen. His dark eyes focused on his rice bowl, it seemed that he was averting her gaze. However, if his behavior was strange, his offer was too tempting to refuse.

"Yes." Eli beamed at the two brothers. "Let's do it !"

In the end, Eli never knew why Ace accepted, at last, to improve their cabin. In a few days they built two little rooms attached to the first one; a bedroom for the black-haired brothers and on for the girl.

The last sounds of hammer's blows resonating in the air, Eli let her gaze travel on their improved cabin. As Luffy jumped down of a ladder, a large grin made it's way on the girl's face. The boy had added the third board above the cabin's entrance: 'Eli's Country'.

It was stupid, it was childish, but it was also the most heartwarming thing anyone had ever done for her. Beaming at the rubber boy, a brilliant sensation fluttered inside of the girl's chest for, at that very moment, Eli felt that she was at home.

to be continued

* * *

_'Freckles' has a sidefic, from Ace's point of view. It's called 'Twig' and you can find it via my profile (warning : it's M-rated). The first chapter gives Ace's thoughts on the swimming scene :)_


	5. Goodbye

**Chapter 5 v2  
****Goodbye**

Winter was a strange season for a girl who had spent her whole life on a tropical island. The bare trees, the freezing breeze that caused goose bumps to cover the skin; it was dark and cold and it caused the girl's mood to gloom.

However, there was one really good thing about winter: the snow.

As she said her goodbyes to Makino and walked over to the Party's bar entrance, Eli wished she could see snow once again, but as she stepped on the porch, no whiteness brightened her field of vision, and so, with a deep sigh the girl started walking up the main street of Fuschia.

Carefully, she tucked her scarf into her coat and put her cold hands in her pockets, clenching her fists repeatedly to warm her fingers. Only the moon was casting its silver light on her way as Eli walked home, the cold wind howling quietly on her ears, she sped up her pace.

As she reached her home, the girl found the cabin empty. It was late though, but the two brothers weren't here to welcome her. This wasn't unusual. With this sad, snow-less winter, another thing was darkening the girl's thoughts; Ace would leave right after his seventeenth birthday, therefore, the black-haired teen spent most of his time training harder than before and preparing his ship for his impending departure.

Loneliness weighing heavily on her heart, Eli stepped out of the empty cabin and walked in direction of Mont Corbo's coast. After a few minutes, the sound of hammering reached her ears and the girl put a smile on her face as she walked toward the teen and his little boat.

"Hey Freckles," she called out, a steamy haze spreading in the air along with her voice.

"Hey." Ace's head turned around to look at her, before shifting back to his noisy task.

Silently, Eli came to a stop behind him and peered at the wooden cockleshell. Ace had retrieved three or four shells of abandoned ships to make his own. The mast was standing straight only thanks to the multiple metal plates nailed all around and the ship's body was riddled with holes.

"It won't be ready on time," Eli pouted quietly, burying her chin in her blue scarf.

"It will be ready," Ace stated on the spot, his dark eyes focused on his the mast.

She shifted her weight on one of her legs and looked at him from the side. "And you're not ready either."

"I am !" he contradicted, a large grin on his freckles face.

Looking at him beaming with pride, Eli's mood sullen. How could he be so happy to leave ? It was less than three years since she had found a home and a family again. Those bonds were the only ones she had and she wasn't ready to see one of the two brothers leaving her side so soon.

Mixed feelings filled her mind as Eli stared at the teen's hammer swinging unwaveringly on a nail. Anger and sadness both stirred inside of her, swelling with the sound of every blow.

"You're still a kid, Freckles," she found herself saying harshly. "You'll get your ass kicked !"

"I'm older than you," Ace said quietly, refusing to look at the angry girl.

"Maybe, but you're much, much, _much_ more stupid." Eli gave the sand a kick as she spoke.

Shifting back behind him, Eli glared at his back while waiting for his reply, but Ace remained silent, hammering on his stupid boat without relent. Upon his silence, Eli felt herself burning up with rage. She didn't know why though, but as Ace's departure was drawing nearer and nearer, she was becoming more and more restless.

"You think you're so mature and strong," Eli said scornfully a deep frown darkening her childish face. "But you're still virgin Ace !"

"_WHAT ?_" The teen swirled around, his elbow striking into the girl's small breast as he did.

A loud pained cry escaped her mouth as Eli's nursed her small and aching chest. "My boob !" she yelled angrily.

To that, Ace scoffed. "Your _what_ ?" he asked, mockery shining in his dark eyes.

How stupid of him. After spending almost three years with the twig, the teen should have known better. Quick as a wrathful lightning, Eli shot her leg into his chest. Effectively sending him flying a few meters away. A grumble resonated from her throat as Ace hit the sand, only a hair's breadth away from the sea.

_Damn ! _Eli gave the ground yet another kick before briskly sitting down.

Her arms tightly folded, the girl blasted Ace with a glare of pure hatred while, laughing sheepishly, he stood up, picked up his hammer, and walked back to resume his task.

His endeavor was praise-worthy, even through her agitated mind Eli knew that, but as her jade gaze now settled on the horizon, shadows of anxiousness formed once again in her head. This ocean, vast and unknown, dangerous and exciting, the teen's figure will soon fade away, dissolving in the blue infinity while she and Luffy would remain on the shore, completely oblivious of his adventures and the dangers the older brother would face.

"We are all too young," Eli said quietly. Slowly, she brought her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. "Luffy, you, and I, we are just a bunch of kids..."

A sigh left his mouth as Ace sat by her side. "That's what you meant when you said..." The words seemed to be stuck in his throat. "You know..."

"I guess..." Eli rested her chin on her knees. "But you are still..." It was her turn to find herself unable to mouth the words that had so easily passed through her previously angry lips. "You know... you still are... Right ?"

"Maybe..." Ace cleared his throat. "You ?"

"Maybe..." Eli mumbled, burying her mouth in her arms.

A blanket of silence covered the two blushing teen as they stared forward while the only sounds heard were those of the waves crashing regularly on the shore.

"It's the most awkward conversation we've ever had..." Ace muttered.

Eli turned her head around as the teen stood up and walked back to his cockleshell.

"You can't travel in this... _thing_," she said.

"Why not ?"

"You'll drown at the first tempest." Eli stood up and dusted the sand off her clothes. "I could give you mine."

"_Really_ ?" Ace turned around and looked at the girl with a face-splitting grin.

"You have to promise me one thing, though..." Eli fixed her gaze on his eyes with a steadiness that washed his childish smile away. "If it's too hard, if you feel that you're not strong enough, you'll have to join Luffy's crew."

"Sure," Ace said smugly, making a light motion with his hand. "No way it'll happen anyway."

Eli wasn't sure if she could believe Ace's careless promise. He would probably forget it a few hours later, but she gave him her boat anyway. It was the least she could do to make sure he wouldn't die at sea and that thought comforted the girl to a sufficient degree.

* * *

Ace's birthday was a blast. Makino and some of Fuschia's people came to Dadan's house. Grog was served which was probably the main cause of the many loud shouts of laughter. The bandits and the town's people meddled together, forgetting their differences for that one night. In a joyous prevailing mood, the three teens managed to forget that Ace would be leaving in a few hours. They ate, drank and danced to their hearts' content.

After a few hours, the bandits and town's people collapsed one after the other on the floor, a smile plastered to their sleeping faces.

"I'll bring the mayor home," Makino said, Fuschia's mayor's arms vaguely draped around her neck, he was incoherently mumbling advices to the future pirate.

"Are you sure you don't need help ?" Ace offered as he and Eli accompanied the barmaid outside.

"No, no," Makino said, her usual smile brightening her lovely face. "Go rest, Ace. Tomorrow's the big day."

As they waved the barmaid goodbye, Eli felt a sting of anxiety on her heart. _The big day._.. With a deep sigh, she pushed away the disagreeable sensation and walked over to her home.

Luffy had fallen asleep at Dadan's and the two teens let him sleep among the bandits. Silently, they entered the main room and, without exchanging a word, walked to their respective bedrooms.

Shoving her clothes away, Eli slipped into her night t-shirt and slumped on her bed, the mattress squeaking upon her heavy fall.

Her mind and body were restless. Stirring in every direction, Eli pushed her blanket away before hugging it tightly. She rolled from one side to another, incapable of finding a comfortable position. A sigh left her mouth along with a bit of tension while the girl's mind was in a state of flutter rarely attained before. He was leaving and she would miss him; it was as simple as that. Yet, she had avoided the teen almost the whole evening, preferring the company of anyone to the future pirate's.

Another deep sigh left her lips as Eli sat up. This agitation was impossible to cope up with; she had to do something, anything. With a grunt, the girl stood up and walked to her bedroom door.

"What are you doing ?" a familiar voice asked.

Her hand still curled on the doorknob, Eli narrowed her eyes. " Ace ?" In the darkness, she could barely recognize the boy's shadow standing up by the window. "I couldn't sleep and I was going to get a drink of water, want some ?"

"No thanks." Ace replied getting closer to the girl.

Eli walked over to the water barrel and plunged her bowl inside. As she sipped the cold liquid, she glanced at the black haired teen standing silently next to her. There was something strange emanating from him, something unfamiliar.

"Are you okay ?" she asked after finishing the bowl's content.

Wordlessly, Ace nodded.

* * *

_Litchi... _It was all she could think of, because it was all around her. Lingering on her tongue, filling her nostril with her every breath, deeply imprinted in her mind...

At that moment, Eli couldn't remember how it had happened. At that instant, Eli couldn't remember what brought her to the situation she was in. A litchi scented emptiness in her head while her body was on fire in both pain and pleasure, Eli's mind couldn't quite form the words to describe said situation.

It was simple though; she just had sex.

Her previously pristine womanhood was pounding and burning, as if to make sure that the girl was aware of the reality of it all. The hard pants that blew from her mouth carried the scent of the litchi liqueur to the face of the young man who was hovering above her.

They were both naked, obviously, both looking at each other but not quite understanding what they were seeing. It was... _unreal_.

"I guess..."

His voice made it's way to her ears, further awaking the girl from the daze she was in.

"... guess we..."

_Oh shoot ! _Upon seeing Ace's eyelids threateningly fluttering on his dark eyes, Eli was definitely snapped back to reality.

With a loud gasp, she elbowed his left arm and pushed his right shoulder making the teen falling flat on his back next to her.

_That was close..._ A sigh of relief escaped the girl's mouth while she ran a hand through her sweaty hair.

Slowly, she sat up, wincing at the burning pain awakened upon her body's movements. A shiver swiftly racing on her bare skin, Eli grabbed the sheet and covered her body, bringing her knees to her chest as she did.

The sound of his light snores got the girl to turn her head and look at the black haired young man lying next to her.

Unfair.

How simple it was for him, falling asleep like he did. Even though his narcolepsy was extremely annoying, for the first time, Eli envied Ace's condition. He looked at peace while, on the other side, a chaos started to roar inside of her head. He looked, somehow, innocent while she felt wrench of guilt on her burning insides. His childish features, his raven, tousled hair, the memory of the warmth of his skin touching hers... The girl wanted to lie beside him while knowing that it would be the worst thing to do.

Unfair...

Eli released her frustration in the form of a sigh. Silently, she reached out for her clothing and slipped inside. Warmly clad, she walked to the door, forcing her eyes forward as if to ignore the young man who was sound asleep under her sheets and, as she stepped out, she closed it behind her, not sparing a gaze to Ace.

A cold breeze swept inside of the cabin as the girl opened the main door. Stepping outside, her face raised to gaze at the twinkling canopy, the guilt's wrench further tightening on her guts. Eli bit on her bottom lip while she carefully closed this second door behind her and, without another thought; she dashed away from her home, away from her bedroom, away from _him_.

She ran, taking off the floor swiftly, her hair fluttering to her ears. She ran, her eyes focused on her course, she skillfully dodged the trees and bushes on her way. She ran, a smile making its way on her lips as the weight on her chest lessened every-time her feet lifted off the ground.

After a minute, Eli was a dozen of kilometers away from her home. Her pace slowed down upon seeing the horizon appearing through the forest. A last tree and she was at the cliff overhanging the sea. The sky was still very dark, her surroundings only faintly lightened up as the full moon cast its silver rays upon this strange winter night.

Eli sat on the ground, curling into a tight ball to warm herself. In this cold silence, she could hear clearly a voice whispering in the back of her head and, gradually, she understood... They did it because he was here and so was she. They did it because tomorrow he would leave. They did it because they wanted to grow up, because they wanted to feel stronger.

Drowsiness finally taking over her, Eli let herself fall on her side and, as she felt herself drowning in the bright blackness filling her mind, a faint smile appeared on the girl's childish face.

They did it because they were a tad stupid and they deeply liked each other...

* * *

The morning came and, with it, the light of the sun. It warmed the girl's body, waking her with its gentle caress. There were birds as well, their lovely songs making their way to her ears and soon, to her drowsy mind. Then there was cold, the lovely kind of cold, refreshing and pure, the cold of a morning of winter. With a yawn, Eli filled herself with this new air, tasting this newborn year with enthusiasm.

Groggily, the girl sat up and rubbed her eyes and, with every flutter of her heavy eyelids, she realized... the sun was already very high in the sky; she had overslept. _Damn !_

Brusquely, the girl stood up, and, ignoring the dizzy sensation taking over her, Eli dashed into the forest. Her race was clumsy as her limbs were still very numb and she barely avoided crashing into several trees before bursting out of darkness, the bright light of the sun reflecting on the white sand blinding her on the spot.

Eli saw a crowd appearing in her blurry field of vision, familiar faces, and they were all looking at her before turning their heads in the direction of the sea.

Her face snapping around, she saw a little boat floating on the waves. _Her_ boat and inside, _he_ was here.

"You're late, Eli !" Luffy said.

"I know..."

Slowly walking through the crowd, the girl observed Ace. He was already very far, but she could see him clearly, and so, he could probably see her as well.

"He waited but you never showed up..."

Biting on her bottom lip, Eli slowly lifted her hand only to find it stopping halfway. Her fingers twitched and the girl clenched her fist repeatedly. She was looking at him and he was looking at her. Mixed feelings burst and twirled inside of her as she stared at his faraway face.

And then, Ace grinned, his hand raised high above his head, he waved.

The young man was wearing the stupid orange hat that Makino had gave him and, despite the freezing temperature, he had his red shirt open. Bright was his smile and, overall, he was too.

Ace was smiling and Eli felt a warm and brilliant sensation washing the rest away. Mirroring his gesture, she raised her lifted hand high up and waved at him while a large smile appeared on her face. They couldn't say a word, and maybe that was for the best, because there was nothing to say. He was leaving. But as she waved stupidly to the little boat, which was quickly disappearing in the horizon, Eli knew that it was only a goodbye and that, soon, she would see him again.

to be continued

* * *

_I'm not completely satisfied with this v2 but it's still much better than the first one (in my opinion). I hope you liked it and, if you want to know what happened during the 'missing' part you can check 'Twig' second chapter (warning, it's M-rated and hadn't been revised since the changes on this chapter)._


	6. Omen

**Chapter 6**** v2  
Omen**

Eli stayed in Fuschia Village for two years after Ace's departure. First, she wanted to save money to repay for Joku's kindness. After all, it was him who brought her to this new and wonderful life. The girl had also planned to save some money and buy herself a nice boat. Within the years spent in their company, it seemed that the two brothers' dream passed onto her; impatient, she wanted sail single-handed through East Blue.

Before leaving for her own adventures, Eli made a promise with Luffy; after his seventeenth birthday, they would meet again in Loguetown and she will join his crew.

The eighteen year old girl took her leave in January, from the very same coast where Ace had said his goodbye two years before. For the first time since her arrival on Fuschia, Eli sailed alone upon the waves, the island slowly shrinking in the horizon, and in her mind, she treasured the smiling faces of her friends, her family.

* * *

For months, Eli traveled through East Blue. Her sole purpose was the discovery of this new world, and so, the girl stopped at each passing island. She wanted to learn about their stories, their peoples and write her encounters in her book.

It was a new hobby of hers. Ever since she started her journey, the lone sailor wanted to write a book about her adventures. It wasn't really exciting, mainly sketches of the beautiful sceneries she went by, tales and legends she heard, or just a listing of her everyday life. But after all it was rather a warm up until her real adventure on Grand Line with Luffy would began.

Since she had not proclaimed herself as a pirate, neither the marines nor the bounty hunters chased the girl. In the end, the only ones that really bothered her were other pirates. Whenever she came by one of their ships, they almost always annoyed her into joining their crew or just 'having fun'. Fortunately, Eli's boat was faster, and so, she could get away from them rather quickly.

This once again happened about a year after she left Fuschia.

Eli was on her way to visit the Baratie. It was a restaurant famous from all over East Blue. The food there was said to be exquisite, but the thing that drawn the girl to the establishment was a different other and quite interesting fact; the owner was said to be a former pirate and so were all of his employees.

The Baratie was in sight and Eli's mouth was already drooling a little out of impatience as she imagined the delicious meal that would soon fill her hungry stomach, when the sole sailor heard cries from behind her.

Looking over her shoulder, she found herself rolling her eyes as she saw a pirate ship following her. With an annoyed sigh, Eli turned her gaze back to the floating restaurant. It was fairly large, and very colorful. The ship had a fish figurehead and overall, the establishment was very pretty and welcoming.

"Oi lass," the pirates yelled from behind her. "Don't ignore us !"

A heavy glare on her face, Eli turned around. "You're so annoying..."

"Are you sure it's a girl ?" one of the pirates asked his crewmates and already, Eli felt her annoyance turning into rage.

"Go to hell shitty pirates !" she snarled and disembarked briskly.

"Oi ! She insults us Captain !"

Tying her boat to the dock, Eli huffed scornfully; pirates could be so childish sometimes.

"Sink her tiny raft !" the captain ordered.

Upon hearing the threat, the girl's head snapped toward the ship. The pirates were loading a cannon and soon aimed for her little boat.

A loud explosion ran through the air and Eli jumped in the direction of the cannonball. With a swift kick, she deflected the projectile easily and landed on her boat with a thud. Disdain painted across her face, she blasted the pirates with a scornful glare .

Her assailants, however, weren't looking at her, and following their gazes, dread washed over the girl. Eli winced upon hearing a loud crashing sound as the cannonball crashed through the roof of the Baratie.

_Damn..._

As Eli scratched her head to find a solution to her dilemma, a nice solution popped in her mind; the pirates should pay for the damages, or a least face the owner of the restaurant. After all, it was _their_ stupid cannonball.

The girl turned around and blinked rapidly as she watched the pirate ship. A tumult raising from its deck, she soon saw the gutless crew fleeing the crime scene.

"Sissies..." she muttered.

For a moment the girl wondered if she should do the same, but a responsible part of her caused guilt to grip on her guts and the girl found herself climbing on the restaurant's roof. Maybe the projectile had hurt someone and so she just couldn't flee like a coward.

Taking a closer look at the damages the cannonball had caused, Eli's chewed her bottom lip; the hole was huge, however, as she looked inside, her distress dispersed a little. It seemed that the ball had crashed in a bedroom and, fortunately, it was empty.

The girl let out a soft sigh of relief but had yet to taste her easement as a man entered the room. Heavy footfalls resonating in her ears as well as in the bedroom, Eli jumped inside to avoid chunks of wood fall from the hole.

The man came to a stop in front of her, anxiousness making Eli swallow hard though her tightened throat. He was an elderly looking man, but not decrepit. The first thing that caught the girl's attention was a very, _very_, tall chef cap. With a hat like this, Eli assumed that the man was the head chef of the restaurant. It was so tall that it almost brushed the ceiling... Snapping out of her daze of the towering headgear, she focused on his face; he had two braided blond mustaches which might have brought a smile to her lips if the man wasn't wearing a furious glare as he looked at the sheepish girl.

"You did this ?" the man asked angrily.

"Well... _technically,_ I am not the cause of this..." Eli said, guilt hidden behind her composure.

The man narrowed his eyes, peering deeply in her green orbs.

"But I guess I did.. yes," she said obviously sorry and, inwardly, the girl cursed her lack of aiming abilities.

"Well young lady, you have to pay for the damages," he said harshly walking toward the girl.

With a swift and powerful kick, the chief threw the cannonball through hole and into the ocean. Her mouth slightly agape, Eli was impressed. That was then that she noticed; he had a wooden leg. He had a wooden leg and in spite of that, the man's aim was perfect and even though the cannonball was really heavy, he had shot it further that any cannon would have.

"I would, I really would," she said, taking a hold of herself. "But you see, I don't have money."

"Then you'll have to work here for a year." The chef folded his arms apparently not planning on taking back his 'offer'.

"A whole year ?" Eli whined. "I can't ! I made a promise to a friend that I'll meet with him again in six months."

With her words, the memory of her promise to Luffy came back in her mind. A smile on her face, she thought that, soon, she will see him again and then her real adventure would start.

The man cleared his throat loudly, snapping the girl out of her rêverie.

"We'll see," he said, his voice was more calm as he spoke. "If you work hard enough I could consider releasing you sooner."

Relieved, Eli grinned, the cook didn't seem so scary after all.

"Thank you very much, sir," she said and bowed briskly.

The man presented himself; his name was Zeff and, just as she thought, he was the owner of the restaurant. After a short introduction, he escorted her down the stairs to the kitchen and presented the girl to the rest of the staff. They were all former pirates. Rather large and muscular, they all wore the same white uniform and chef caps, much smaller ones than Zeff's, of course.

"Nice to met you all." Eli put a nice smile on her face as she looked at the cooks. "I'm Elisabeth but please call me Eli."

Zeff named the entire cook staff one by one; Patty, Ragia, Meco, Carne,... but his enumeration came to a stop as a young man made his way through the crowd. Eli looked at Zeff questioningly as she saw him rubbing his forehead, a frown of annoyance on his face.

"And this is Sanji..." said Zeff, irritation in his voice.

Eli turned her gaze to said man; he was young, around her own age maybe. Rather classy, he wore a black suit. A large lock of blond hair was hiding the left half of his face and he had the most _swirly_ eyebrow she had ever seen.

As she was observing him silently, Eli saw that the young man was checking her out quite outrageously. His dark blue eye glided upon her body from hair to toes, _really_ taking his time as he looked at her long legs.

Her brows going up on her forehead, the girl was slightly surprised at the young man's behavior. Never had she felt so scrutinized by a man's eyes, it almost felt as if he was undressing her in his mind.

"My dear Elisabeth !" Sanji finally said, taking the girl's hand in his. "I feel so lucky that such a goddess has crossed my path today."

His blue eyes were deeply looking into hers and Eli blinked rapidly. _Goddess...? _That was... new. The girl was used to being mistaken for a boy, but never had she been called a _goddess_ before. The young man's eyes morphed into hearts and Eli found herself chuckling lightly.

This was going to be fun.

"Do you really mean it, Sanji ?" Eli sighed and looked away.

"But of course my lovely mademoiselle." He laid a soft kiss on her hand.

Eli let herself fall into his arms, obviously enjoying her little drama queen act. "Oh Sanji, take me with you. I'll follow you anywhere," she said, looking up at him with watery eyes.

Apparently, this was too much to cope up with for the womanizer. Sanji put the girl in the standing position and walked away dizzily. Eli and the kitchen's staff burst out in laughter as soon as he closed the door behind him.

* * *

Eli's job at the Baratie was quite different from working in the Party's Bar. The food was definitely more fancy and so were the clients. The waitress had to seat them, give them a hot towel, and be extremely polite no matter how disrespectful they might be. However, even though she managed to deal with tact and restraints with this sort of customers, behind her back, one of the cooks would always teach them a lesson before throwing them out of the establishment.

Behind their gruff manners, the former pirates had a soft and endearing side, and Eli got easily attach to them.

In their company, the days and weeks passed by rapidly. In the end, the lone sailor was really happy she had kicked that cannonball in the floating restaurant. The cooks were fun to hang with, the food was absolutely delicious, and free, and after only a few days of begging and whining the girl had managed to make Zeff agreeing into teaching her some kicking techniques.

One day after the night shift, the staff decided to play poker. Eli had seen them doing it occasionally. It was an amusing scene to watch. Even though not much money was at stake, they almost always end up fighting against each other.

This time, however, Eli decided to join the fun.

"Have you ever played poker, Elisabeth ?" Sanji asked looking at he girl with his famous loving eyes.

"I have, though I'm not very good" Eli sat herself at the table.

The cooks laughed, saying that any girl would be able to fleece Sanji and Carne dealt the cards to the players.

As she watched her hand, the joyous smile that was brightening her face faltered. Speechlessly, Eli stared at her cards, while an invisible hand clawed on her insides. Fear washing over her, the girl clutched the cards in her hands and ran outside of the restaurant, Sanji following her on the spot.

"What's wrong Elisabeth ?"

Fear thudding in her ears, Eli barely heard her friend. She was staring desperately at the ocean, as if she was looking for something in the distance, knowing all the while that what she was looking for was out of sight, out of reach.

"You'd better be okay Freckles..." she muttered.

Distress stirring in her jade eyes, the girl looked absently at the creased cards in her hands; she had a quad, four aces...

to be continued

* * *

_This chapter has been revised._

_The five first chapters will be entirely rewritten (some events will change) but it'll take a bit more time than a quick revision.  
Since it was easier (and obviously needed) I took care of this one first :)_


	7. Reunion

**Chapter 7 v2  
****Reunion**

Eli's days at the Baratie went by like a breeze. Before she knew it, she was already packing her belongings in her baggage. Her heart felt a little heavy knowing that she probably won't see her new friends before a long time. She was about to put her logbook in her bag when the girl found herself caressing its the leather cover, a gentle warmth fluttering softly inside of her as she did. Soon she will see Luffy again, and she missed the rubbery teen, more than she'd dare to admit.

With a deep breath, Eli grabbed her shoulder bag, as well as her heavy baggage, and walked out of her bedroom. The usual hubbub prevailing in the kitchen was hushed as soon as the girl entered the room. She looked around, a grin on her face as she watched all this big and tall men and their red and puffy eyes. The gruff cooks would obviously miss the girl.

"Well ! Time for me to go !" Eli said cheerfully. "Thanks for everything."

Some mumbles and the cooks rubbed their eyes with their forearms.

"Oh my beautiful Elisabeth~," Sanji whined, and took the girl's hand in his. "I can't believe this day has come..."

Her grin grew larger and Eli patted the young man's head. She would miss Sanji; he was a really good friend, and probably the biggest womanizer she had ever seen. It was the first time she had met someone who called her 'beautiful', it was nice, even though very exaggerated. But it made her laugh and, as the time went by, the love-cook displayed some other sides of his personality.

He was strong and arrogant to an unbelievable degree, yet sometimes, she would catch him looking in the horizon dreamily. He had a dream; All Blue. In Grand Line was a mystical sea of legend, the blond had told her once, the only place in the world were North, South, East, and West seas met and, in this legendary ocean, it was said that all the fish could be found. Every cooks' dream. Sanji had a childish glimmer in his eyes whenever he talked about his dream. It was endearing.

Without doubt, she would really miss Sanji. Looking at the cook, Eli felt a tight grip on her stomach. "You'll have to come, Sanji," she said quietly, only for him to hear. "I'll see you there."

One last smile, and Eli walked over to the door. As she put her hand on the doorknob, a loud, and strangely familiar, noise was heard from above.

The girl found herself laughing upon hearing the sound. "It sounds exactly like the time when I deflected that cannon ball in the roof !"

Her laughter dying out on the spot, the girl and Zeff looked at each other with wide, bewildered, eyes. Without an other thought, they both ran upstairs.

"What the _HELL_ !" Zeff yelled.

"What are the odds..." the girl said quietly, as she watched the exact same hole as the one she had made about six months ago in the restaurant's roof...

Her eyes shifting from the cannonball to the hole, Eli couldn't believe her vision. Only a few weeks after the damages had been repaired, the roof was back in the same state as it was after her arrival at the Baratie. While she was lost in confusion, she heard Zeff muttering some of the worst curses she had ever heard, a dangerous aura emanating from the former pirate.

"...Rocket !" yelled a familiar voice coming from outside.

"Luffy !" Eli watched the boy with amazement as he had propelled himself inside of the room.

"You know this punk, kiddo ?" Zeff questioned raising an eyebrow at the girl.

She nodded with a smile. "He's my captain, Chef."

"I can't believe you're here." Eli walked over to the Luffy and beamed at the boy. "It's good to see you."

It was surely unexpected, but she was definitely happy to see him so soon. It has been almost one year and a half since she had last seen him and he hadn't changed an iota. The teen might have gained a few centimeters but he was still rather small compared to her. And his hat, his trademark hat; it was definitely still the same old Luffy.

"Eli !" Luffy fixed his Straw Hat on his head. "What are you doing here ?"

"Long story..." Eli laughed lightheartedly. "What about you ?"

"I'm here to find a cook for my crew." Folding his arms the teen grinned proudly.

_Figures, _Eli thought. If you were looking for a pirate cook, the Baratie was probably the best place around.

Curious, the girl walked over to the hole and observed the ship that was going to be her home from now on. It was a small caravel with a cute sheep figurehead. Eli smiled as she noticed the Jolly Roger; a skull wearing a straw hat. Upon watching the ship, the girl felt a brilliant sensation arising from inside of her; it was real now, Luffy was a pirate and so was she.

From behind the two joyous pirates, Zeff cleared his throat quite loudly, making Eli wince in fear for her captain. The chef didn't like being ignored in general, but at this instant, considering that the boy outrageous ignoring him had just crashed a cannonball in his restaurant, the girl knew that this was going to be ugly.

"I'll go check the ship out," she said, and got out through the hole. "Good luck, Captain."

As soon as she was out, Eli hear hoarse yells resonating from the inside, but knowing Luffy she had a hint that everything was going to be alright, probably.

Her feet tapping on the dock, Eli saw a young man jumping off the ship with a loud thump as his heavy boots hit the floorboards. It didn't take the girl more than a split second to recognize him.

Ace.

It has been three years now. He was tall, much taller than when he left, maybe more muscular too. As usual he was wearing an opened shirt as well as the bright cowboy hat he got before his departure. As she got closer, Eli distinguished his singular and so lovely freckles, this sight making her smile happily.

"Your face seems vaguely familiar," she jested, narrowing her eyes as she did. "Do I know you ?"

"Yo, Twig," Ace greeted smiling back at her.

A few steps away from him, the girl came to a stop, and crouched to put her heavy baggage down. She clenched her hand repeatedly when blood started to flow back in her numb palm and fingers. There was something strange floating silently in the air; happiness, of course, but a slight bit of discomfort. She was observing him and, surely enough, he was observing her. Obviously, she was glad to see he was unharmed. Ever since the cards' omen, the girl couldn't help but feeling uneasy and concerned about his well being. But he was right here in front of her, safe and sound and the girl couldn't help but notice that the cute freckled teen who had left about three years ago had grown into a good looking man, however, Eli quickly made a mental note never to admit that out loud.

Eli straightened up. "Long time no see Freckles," she said and felt that the cheerful tone of her voice was slightly forced. "How have you been ? Still unable to button up a shirt as I can see..."

_Did I really say that...?_

The young man's smile turned a bit devious. "What about you ? Still the same annoying brat ?"

Eli rolled her eyes and kept looking away while the raven-hair pirate laughed childishly. Within the years, the girl knew that she hadn't changed a lot yet she had matured, grown taller and stronger, but Ace... She let out a quiet sigh while her eyes clung on the Baratie. Ace had gone on Grand Line, she had seen his bounty, the young man had quickly become a great pirate and somehow, next to him, Eli felt a bit miserable.

"Can't believe you still wear the hat..." Eli muttered out of annoyance

His smiled widened as Ace put his large hand on her shoulder and leaned closer to her. "It's good to see you again Twig."

And Eli found herself smiling back. No denial possible, it felt good to see him again, real good, and knowing that from now on she would be is the same crew as him and share his adventures, felt even better.

Ace led Eli on to the ship to get to know the other crewmates. After a short self-introduction, the first pirate who made her way to the new member was a girl, a really pretty girl. She was of a normal height, had orange hair, and big, _big,_ boobs.

"Hello, I'm Nami," she said. "Welcome to the dumbest crew ever."

"Quite aware of that," Eli said while shaking the girl's hand and couldn't help but seeing that her breasts were _moving_ with each shaking.

"Nice boobs..." Eli said quietly.

Immediately Nami grinned. Obviously quite proud of her impressive chest and who wouldn't ? Oh years had passed, and with each year the beanpole could only despair watching her body. Now she was almost twenty. A twenty-year-old girl with the body of a freakishly tall boy...

A deep sigh escaped her lips as Eli finally unclung her eyes from the redhead's breasts. "I should get some of those..."

"Yeah, you should," agreed a smirking Ace behind her.

Eli twitched and straightened up. He of all had no right to say that because... The girl shook her head rapidly to clear her mind, and walked over to a boy standing a few steps away from Nami.

A teenager, around Luffy's age probably, with one of the longest nose she had ever seen. He was tanned, skinny and rather short. He wore a pair of dark brown overalls, goggles, and a green bandana over his curly black hair.

"I'm Usopp ! Captain Usopp," he bragged pointing his right thumb at the center of his chest. "The greatest warrior of the sea."

The girl's eyes narrowed, and as she leaned closer to him, the boy gulped.

"I defeated thousand of foes, and I am feared all around the world," he said, his claim barely concealing his fear.

A smirk on her face, Eli straightened up, towering over the teen, she was around two dozen of centimeters taller than him.

"Well, I am actually a mermaid who was banished from the bottom of the sea after eating one of the most powerful Devil Fruit," she said and with every last of her words, Usopp's knees shook harder. "But I can still make you my slave with one little word..."

Eli sneered as the boy was starting to sweat. Slowly, she brought her lips to his ear and could almost smell his fear.

"... Boo."

With a loud gasp, the long-nosed teen jumped and ran to hide behind the mast, while the other pirates burst in laughter. Turning around Eli saw two men walking in her direction, they both carried a sword, one of them wore sunglasses and the other had a head protector.

"I'm Johnny," said the one with sunglasses.

"And I'm Yosaku." They both shook her hand. "We're just tagging along for now."

Eli looked around to see if she hadn't missed anyone, and soon, her eyes fell on a muscular man with _green_ hair. He was sleeping against the mast with three katanas lying next to him.

"And who's the sleeping one," she asked Ace pointing a thumb at the man. "Your lost brother or something ?"

"Zoro, he's the swordsman of the crew," Ace replied apparently ignoring her joke.

"Zoro..." Eli brought a hand to her chin, and looked upward thoughtfully. "I know this name..."

"Roronoa Zoro," Ace specified. "The famous Pirate Hunter."

On the spot, Eli mentally snapped her fingers. Of course she had heard of him during her journey. He had quite a merciful reputation, yet, seeing him napping peacefully, no one would have guessed.

After that she had met all of her new crewmates, Ace asked Eli what she was doing at the Baratie and the girl found herself telling the story of the cannonball. During her short tale the pirates couldn't help but laugh at the odd similarities between the girl's accident and Luffy's. Their laughing fit, however, quickly faltered when the reality of the situation hit them.

They would be stuck at the Baratie for at least six months.

"We can't possibly wait for him a whole year long." Usopp whined and the other pirates all nodded in agreement.

"And knowing Luffy," Nami sighed. "I'm not sure a year of work would be even enough to pay for all the food he'll eat."

It seemed that even though they had spent only a few weeks with Rubber Boy, his crew was already aware of the bottomless pit he had for a stomach.

"Knowing Luffy." Eli smiled. "I'm sure everything will turn out fine."

At her words, the pirates all smiled back, and though her eyes, Eli could see the keen affection and trust they already had for the boy. It was a nice crew. They were all young and surely inexperienced, but they all had dreams, she could feel it. They all shared a wish for adventure that could only be seen through the eyes of a true dreamer.

to be continued

* * *

_Revised._

_Yay ! That makes 3, only... oh, my... 16 to go...? *sigh*_


	8. A Cook's Duty

**Chapter 8 v2****  
A Cook's Duty**

Restless, the pirates' feet tapped on the deck with an annoying regularity. Was Luffy a waiter now or did he manage to get the great Zeff to submit to his puppy eyes ? In any case, if short, the waiting was unbearable for the youngest part of the crew. They yearned for adventures and the prospect of waiting, even if it was only for a few weeks, for their rubbery captain to repay his debt was, somehow, unendurable.

And so, out of impatience, the pirates decided to go in the Baratie and see how their captain was doing.

"Twig," Ace called out as the girl was following Nami. "Stay, I'll give you a tour of the Merry."

Eli looked at the freckled young man and then at the Baratie. She already knew the restaurant from top to bottom but had yet to discover her new home; the sheepy ship named Merry.

A nod was her reply. Eli grabbed her baggage and Ace motioned her to follow him and begin with the visit.

From the main deck two sets of stairs; one leading to the bow, and one leading to the lounge room.

The lounge room was the most important of the Merry. It was fairly large but since it served as meeting room, kitchen, and helm, it was rather cluttered. Her eyes traveling around, Eli couldn't help but think that, whoever would become their cook, he would have a hard time preparing anything fancy in such a little space.

The two pirates went out of the room and down the staircases to take a door leading to the storage room, located under the lounge.

Barrels, rations, wooden boxes, and treasure chest all over the place, it was a real shambles. There were also two cannons facing each side of the ship. A door gave access to a small bathroom and, opening a hatch, the pair went down to the women's quarters.

Quite luxurious, the women's bedroom was definitely the most tidy of all the rooms Eli had seen on board. Climbing down the stairs the green-eyed girl felt a warm sensation akin to relief rising inside of her. It was cute, but not too girlie, and definitely welcoming. Soon, she noticed a desk and a bookcase. Her eyes and fingertips gliding upon the edges of the books, she saw that most of them were related to navigation. There also were a few encyclopedias indexing islands, their creatures as well as plants.

A smile made its way to her lips as Eli put her luggage down and began searching through the mess prevailing inside for her own collection of books. Focused on her search the girl startled as she heard Ace clearing his throat from behind her. Somehow, she had forgotten he was here. Looking over her shoulder she saw the young man leaning a bit forward to look inside of her bag.

"Books eh." The young man scratched his temple thoughtfully. "What are they about ?"

"Traveling mostly," Eli said, placing her books on a shelf with care. "I started mine too."

The girl opened her shoulder bag and handed her logbook to Ace. For a minute, the dark-eyed pirates flipped the pages. Silent as he watched rapidly the pages with what Eli could only see as mild interest.

"You draw now ?" he asked, his eyes still on the book.

Eli nodded. "I'm a quick learner."

"You're our chronicler then," Ace said. He shut the book close and gave it back to its owner.

_Chronicler..._ Silently, Eli tasted the title. It was good.

"Yup'."

In the bedroom there were two beds installed against the walls. Eli concluded that the one lacking in bedding would be hers and so threw her shoulder bag on the mattress before walking over to a door facing the staircases.

"You shouldn't go there," Ace said, making the girl looking at him questioningly. "Male's quarters wouldn't suit you tastes." A smirk on his face, he folded his arms.

"I _kinda_ lived with you and Luffy for almost four years," she replied, a brow raising up on her forehead. "I can imagine what it's like."

And since she could _perfectly_ picture the mess as well as the smell, Eli decided _not_ to go it the room. One last glance to her new bedroom and the two pirates walked back to the deck. The tour was over and Eli was more than satisfied. It was a nice ship, small but cozy, and the girl could easily picture a joyous prevailing mood when the whole crew would be reunited.

Trailing up the main mast of the Merry, Eli spotted the crow's-nest and climbed up the rope ladder to reach it. A warm and salty breeze blowing gently, the sluggish fluttering of the pirates' jolly roger filled her ears and the chronicler wallowed the view. The vast open ocean, and somewhere in the distance, Grand Line.

Ace joined the girl and leaned against the crow's-nest, his eyes lost in the azure blue of the sky.

"Freckles," Eli called quietly and his eyes shifted toward her, "how was it ?"

"Spoilers." Ace turned around resting his hands on the nest's edge. "I want to see you freaking out," he said childishly.

"You freaked out ?" Eli ran a hand in her fluttering hair, her eyes still lost in the distance.

"Me ?" He snorted and leaned a bit closer to her ear. "Nop', but _you_ will."

An annoyed sigh and Eli leaned forward, nestling her chin on her forearms. "You were probably asleep half of it." She rolled her head to the side and looked at him. "And since you came back, it means you got your ass kicked."

Slowly, the young man straightened up and fixed his flashy hat. What was that ? Embarrassment ? Eli was gazing at him silently, waiting for a witty retort, but as her jade eyes met with dark ones, she saw something glimmering in his orbs. A glow that was, somehow, unfamiliar and... warm but, soon, the young man shook it away.

"Yeah..."

Curiosity piquing her mind, Eli opened her mouth only to find her tongue laden by an unknown and unpleasant sensation.

She shifted her gaze back to the sea. "I read your exploits... Fire Fist." Unwanted, the gentle tone of her voice was tinged with an hint of sadness.

"Really ?" Ace leaned next to her, his elbow brushing her. "Pretty cool, uh ?" he said, pride and amusement intertwined within his words.

"Who's going to make me swim now...?" Eli asked in a quiet breath.

Ace looked at the girl, puzzled, and, after a few seconds, a shrug was his only reply.

Eli sighed, disliking her unsolicited gloomy mood; she put a smile on her face. "I could still ask Sanji."

"Who's Sanji ?" Ace asked, his puzzled expression furrowing his childish features.

"Our future cook if I'm not mistaken."

* * *

Two days later, the Merry was still docked at the Baratie. Unwavering, Zeff made sure Luffy understood he wasn't planning on releasing him until he would have paid off his dept. Eli had fruitlessly tried to appeal for the retired pirate's better feelings only to find herself wearing her waitress uniform, again.

Eli was serving a table when a sudden shadow blocked the sunlight making the customers looking through the windows.

"That's Don Krieg's ship !" one of the customers yelled visibly frightened.

_The Dreadnaught Sabre,_ Eli thought as she observed the ship.

The chronicler remembered stories about that ship. The Dreadnaught Sabre was the flagship of Don Krieg's pirate armada, consisting of a fleet of fifty pirate ships. It was a very large galleon, almost three times larger than the floating restaurant. It had the figurehead of a saber-tooth tiger. Redoubtable and sinister the galleon's sails were torn out, the impressive figurehead and some of the masts were broken; it looked like a ghost-ship.

As she observed the pitiful state of what was once the most feared ship of East Blue, the chronicler recalled that Don Krieg was supposed to be in Grand Line. The newspapers related his depart from East Blue with joy and relief. But then, why his main ship was here ?

Soon after the ship's arrival, Don Krieg himself entered the restaurant. He was a very large man, wearing a dark purple mantle. The pirate would have been quite scary if he didn't look so weak; dark circles around the eyes, his face marked with fatigue, he had apparently lost the ability to stand upright as one of his crewmates was helping him walk.

A blanket of silence covering the restaurant, the customers and staff's attention was focused on the pirate. Wearily, he walked in the restaurant.

"Excuse us. Could you please give us some food and water ?" he asked with a faint voice. "Money is not a problem."

The silence became heavier. Their eyes widening in disbelief the spectators observed the pitiful pirate voicelessly, before a loud laugh ran through the air. Like a shot, Eli stared at Patty. The cook was belly-laughing before the deplorable state of the pirate and, somehow, as his laugh filled her ears, the waitress felt a sting on her heart.

"Impossible ! Is this really Don Krieg ?" Patty said. "The scariest pirate in East Blue ?"

The cook laughed again and Eli's heart felt more and more heavy with every last of his laughs.

"Patty !" she barked, her fists clenched in anger.

A heavy frown darkening her face, she walked over to her comrade, her footfalls resonating throughout the establishment. As she came to a stop in front of him, Patty huffed

"You're too considerate Eli," he muttered before turning his attention to the other cooks. "Contact the marines !"

Eli's eyes widened upon hearing the agreeing replies. Not only the cooks but all the customers were talking about handing over the miserable pirate to the authorities without feeding him, claiming that his weakness was a chance they couldn't miss and finally put an end to his era of terror on East Blue.

"Please help me, I promise I won't cause you any problems."

The plead hushed the angry crowd. Don Krieg was kneeling on the floor, begging for food and Eli felt her heart wrench with pity, she had experienced starvation before she was saved by Joku and brought to Fuschia; and even though the man was once called 'Scariest Pirate of East Blue' the girl couldn't bear to see him in such pain.

That was then that she saw Sanji.

The young man kicked Patty in the head and served the pirate a plate of fried rice. Don Krieg's eyes filling with tears, he thanked the cook in an agonizing whine before devouring the food using his bare hands.

The staff was speechless for a few seconds before an uproar arose. They ordered the young cook to take the food back from the hands of the starving pirate and Sanji did not even look at then. Nonchalantly, he lit a cigarette and slowly huffed the smoke.

"I don't care who he is," Sanji said. "I'm a cook, I feed the hungry."

Her eyes set on the young man; Eli saw that behind him Don Krieg was standing up. In slow motion, she saw him lifting his arm, not quite believing what she understood; he was going to hit the very person who nourished him. On the spot, the girl dashed over to the blond, she wrapped her arms around his waist and a loud gasp escaped him mouth as she pinned him to the floor.

Sanji raised his face and looked questioningly at the girl lying on him. "Elisabeth..?"

But the waitress didn't have time to explain her reaction as Don Krieg was about to attack them.

"Don Krieg !" the pirate's crewmate yelled bewilderingly as he shielded the two youngsters with his own body. "What's the meaning of this ? You promised that you wouldn't hurt anymore here !"

The deceitful pirate stared at his crewmate, scorn in his eyes, he grabbed the man's throat forcibly before glancing around the restaurant.

"This is a very good restaurant..." he said. "So I will take it."

A few seconds after hearing the dangerous threat, the restaurant was deserted by every customer. The only ones remaining to face the pirate were the cooks and the part-time waiters.

With a laugh worthy of the devil, Don Krieg looked at them with disdain. "Listen ! I have a hundred crewmates starving in my ship. Prepare food for them."

Eli felt Sanji stirring from under her and so turned her attention toward the cook. She sat next to him, something akin to grief glimmering in her green eyes as she look at his expressionless face.

"Thank you Elisabeth," Sanji said quietly. He stood up and walked in the direction of the kitchen.

"Sanji ! Hey where are you going ?" Patty yelled.

"To the kitchen," the blond simply replied, not bothering to look at his colleague. "I have to prepare food for a hundred persons."

The cooks gawked in disbelief and surrounded the young man. They blocked his way, and threatened him with large knifes and forks until Zeff entered the room. The chef made his way over to Don Krieg and put a large bag on the floor in front of the pirate.

"You need food for your crew right ?" Zeff folded his arms. "Take this to your boat."

"Ch.. Chef Zeff !" the cooks stammered, astonishment in their voices.

"Zeff ?" Don Krieg's eyes widened "You're Red Leg Zeff ?" His voice bordered on a yell.

"It's none of your business," the cook replied coldly.

"I am so lucky" The pirate laughed. "You've been to Grand Line and returned safely, during that time you must have held a journal, and I want that journal !"

"Wow !" Luffy who had been silently observing the scene from the beginning, took a step toward the two men and looked at Zeff, his eyes sparking dreamily. "You've been to Grand Line old man !"

Zeff ignored the boy, his eyes set on the threatening pirate, he didn't show an ounce of doubt. "That journal is the pride of my crew and myself, I won't give it to you."

"I'll take it by force then," Don Krieg clenched his large fists. "With it I'll go back to Grand Line, I'll find the One Piece, and I'll become the Pirate King !"

"Wait a minute." Luffy pointed a finger at the pirate. "Sorry, but I am the one who's going to be the Pirate King."

to be continued

* * *

_One more._

_I know that this revisions are far from perfect, but in my opinion they are better than what was written before._  
_Maybe I'll have to work on the v3 in six months, though :P_


	9. Chapter 9

**Freckles**  
**chapter 9**

"Need help Captain ?" asked a familiar voice.

Eli threw a glance on her side to see Ace, Usopp and Zoro comfortably seating at a table. "When did you... Well never mind..." Eli turned back to watch Don Krieg and Luffy, their heated discussion was way more interesting.

"No, I don't need help. Just sit here." Luffy replied coolly.

The boy seemed completely confident, well he always was, but that was the first time Eli had seen him actually facing a "bad guy", and she had to admit he looked kinda cool.

Don Krieg started laughing loudly "Captain ? And I suppose that's your crew ? You're just a bunch of kids." His eyes narrowed when they fell on Ace. "I've seen your face somewhere kid."

The young man smirked, lifting his hat a bit. "I'm Ace, nice to meet you."

"A Ace ?! Fire Fist Ace !?" Krieg cleared his throat and tried to to put on a bold front in the face of the young man. "I though you'd been killed in Grand Line."

"Obviously I'm still alive." Ace replied with an arrogant smirk.

Eli was a bit surprised, first Luffy now Ace, they both acted really manly, cockily would be even more accurate.

"I ain't scared of you kid, you got your ass kicked just like me and in my case that was just because I lacked informations."

Ace's face darkened. "You mean you can kick my ass ?" He got up and cracked his fingers.

"Hey Ace ! This is my fight !" Luffy yelled grabbing his old brother's shoulder.

"Oi ! This man just insulted me." Ace frowned.

"He insulted me first !"

The two brothers started wrestling in the middle of the restaurant. Eli rolled her eyes, a minute ago she was impressed by their manly behaviors, and now they were fighting just like when they were kids.

Don Krieg laughed loudly. "See, just a bunch of kids." He took the bag of food on his shoulder. "Listen ! I'll give everyone a chance. If you don't want to die leave while my crew is eating." he looked at Zeff. "I'll be back to take your journal and your ship."

* * *

After Don Krieg left, the cooks turned to Sanji "This is all your fault shitty cook !" they yelled angrily.

"Shut up idiots !" Zeff intervene. "Have you ever starved in the middle of the ocean ?"

"What do you mean Chef ?" Patty asked astonishingly.

"I don't have time to talk about the past" He pointed the door with his thumb. "If you want to leave, do it. I won't hold you back."

"We'll protect the restaurant. It's is our home !" The cooks yelled cheerfully holding their weapons up in the air.

Don Krieg's crewmate who had stayed behind stood up. "Are you crazy ! You know how strong my Captain is, you must leave now !"

"If he's so strong, how come his entire fleet was destroyed in seven days ?" Patty taunted.

The man sat on the floor. "I'm not sure if it was a nightmare or the truth... It happened so fast." He brought his hand to his forehead. "We've been there for seven days and in an instant our entire fleet was wiped by one man."

The audience gawked "What ? You must be kidding."

"If it wasn't for a storm, the mother ship would have been destroyed too." he continued with a shaky voice. "When we saw that man's eyes we felt like we were already dead. That damned hawk eyes..."

Zoro stood up. "What did you say ?" he was almost yelling.

Zeff crossed his arms "Hawk eyes you say ?"

"He's the man I'm looking for." Zoro said a serious look on his face.

"Wow this is so exciting we really have to go there !" Luffy said raising a fist in the air.

Ace smirked at his little brother's craze.

"Yeah ! Sure ! Let's go to the place where a man alone can destroy an entire fleet." Eli said sarcastically, giving the thumbs up.

"You are crazy... You're going to die there." Sanji said not bothering to look at the group.

"When I decided I'll become the world's best swordsman I left my life behind." Zoro said coldly.

* * *

The cooks and the crew were waiting for Don Krieg's crew to attack any minute now, when the most unbelievable thing happened. Everyone was smitten with terror as the witnessed the huge pirate ship cut in half.

Eli felt a shiver running down her spine, fascination and a dash of fear. If that was the power of Grand Line, she had to admit, she wanted to see more.

After a few seconds of extreme gawking, Zoro came to his senses. "Damn ! Nami Yosaku and Johnny are still on the Merry !".

The crew rushed in the direction of their ship only to find Yosaku and Johnny in the ocean trying hard not to be swallowed by the huge waves.

"What happened ? Where is Nami ? Where is the ship ?" Luffy yelled.

The two men who were heavily panting on the deck of the Baratie. "Nami left... with the... treasure...and the...ship." they finally managed to say.

Luffy, Usopp, Zorro and Ace gawked.

"We are so sorry ! She tricked us !" they began to tell them what has happened.

* * *

_"Can you turn around please ?" Nami asked smiling._

_The two men were puzzled._

_"I'm going to change my clothes, and I'm a bit shy." she said blushing. "Turn around please."_

_And so they did, a second later Nami had pushed them over the railing._

_"What did you do that for Nami ?" they yelled._

_She smirked. "I'm doing my job boys, you see I'm a pirate thief." she looked away "I really had a good time with Luffy and the others, tell them I said bye."_

* * *

Eli rolled her eyes. "Boys..." She sighed.

"That wench !" Zoro gritted his teeth.

Luffy looked out over the sea. "I can still see our ship ! Let's go after her !" he said pointing out the ship. "Eli ! Zoro ! Usopp ! go after her."

The swordsman shrugged. "There's no reason to follow that manipulative woman."

"I want her to be our navigator." Luffy claimed.

Zoro raised an eyebrow at the boy.

Ace smiled, patting the swordsman's shoulder. "You heard the captain !"

Eli trusted Luffy's judgment above all. "Let's go."

"You can use our boat." Yosaku said showing a little boat still attached to the restaurant's dock.

* * *

Walking toward the boat Eli almost crashed in Zoro's back as he had come to a sudden stop.

"Hey watch it..." Eli looked at the swordsman his face had turned pale, she followed his gaze and turned to see a man in boat resembling a coffin with candles that burned with green fire on the edges. The man wore a black and purple mantle, and a black hat decorated with a large feather. He had a very large sword with a black blade attached to his back.

"Why did you follow us ?!" yelled one of Don Krieg's crewmate.

The man looked at him with his piercing eyes. "To kill time."

"Luffy ! I'm sorry but I can't go after Nami." Zoro walked toward the hawk eyed man. "I have looked for you for a long time."

Hawkeye raised an eyebrow "What do you want from me ?"

Zoro tied his bandana on his head. "I want to fight you." he smirked.

* * *

"Ace go with Eli and Usopp. Zoro and I will take care of things here." Luffy ordered.

Ace hesitated a second, before jumping on the boat. "Be careful Luffy."

The fight between Zoro and Hawkeye was about to start and Eli really wanted to watch it but as the boat sailed away, she couldn't see anything anymore.

She sighed disappointedly. "I wanted to see that fight." She sat down next to her companions.

"He's probably gonna die." Ace said fixing his hat. "It's too soon for him..."

"WHAT !?!" the rest of them yelled insanely.

Eli frowned. "Why didn't you stop him then ?!?"

Ace sighed, and turned his head to look at the Baratie. "No one could stop Zoro from this fight."

Yosaku and Johnny sighed. "It is his dream and promise to an old friend."

to be continued

* * *

_Yeah I changed events a bit, Zoro is not going to Arlong park with Usopp, but later with Luffy and Sanji.  
Thanks to Art-sama's review and advices I've been thinking about changing things since Ace and Eli are there some things HAVE to be different._

_I hope you'll like it._

**ThexWhitexPhoenix** : If you meant you want more interactions between Ace and Eli, it's on coming. I won't guaranty romance too soon though :P I don't want to rush things.

**Art-sama** : My first constructive reviewer, thanks again for your help :)


	10. Chapter 10

**Freckles**  
**chapter 10**

They've been sailing for two days, and almost all this time Eli had been lying on the deck looking lazily at the blue sky above her. She wished she hadn't left her book on the Merry, at least she would have something to do. Damn you Nami !

And of course Yosaku and Johnny had nothing on their boat to release the girl from her boredom.

She rolled her head toward the boys to see how they managed to bear this, yet again, uneventful day. Usopp was fishing drowsily. Ace was just plain asleep, or at least it looked like he was, she never knew when was the real thing. And Johnny was sharpening, again, his blade, she could swear it has diminished in the passed two days. They had lost sight of Nami about a day ago, but the group managed to guess that she was going to Arlong Park and Yosaku had left to warn Luffy and Zoro.

The two bounty hunters had informed them that Arlong was a very dangerous man, well a merman to be more precise, and that he had the highest bounty of East Blue. Eli had never met a merman, but she had heard stories about them being 10 times stronger than a normal human, she wasn't too scared though because her companions and herself weren't exactly what people would call normal.

The thing that preoccupied her the most was why would Nami go there. Yosaku and Johnny suspected that she was probably after his bounty, but Ace didn't seem to agree. Nami wasn't a bounty hunter, but a thief. So maybe she was after the merman's treasure.

She sighed heavily. "This is so boring..."

"Hey Eli, tell me what made you join the crew ?" Usopp asked, obviously trying to find some entertainment to keep him from dying of boredom.

Eli sat up. "Mmh Luffy's smile I guess." she replied grinning, yup Luffy was obviously the one that made her a pirate. Ever since she had met him and his brothers, not a day had passed without hearing the word pirate. This could have been annoying but it wasn't, and she wanted to share their dream.

"Ohh this is soooo romantic !" he said making fun of the girl, before starting to sing. "Luffy and Eli sitting in a tree... K-I-S-S-I-N-G..."

"IDIOT !" She frowned hitting him on the top of his head. What was he thinking ? Seriously ? Eli exhaled heavily glaring at the boy who was now rubbing his head. "I meant his passion for the sea and adventure ! I guess it inspired me... What about you ?"

Usopp cleared his throat. "Well, I guess my inspiration is my father, Yasopp. He's one of the greatest pirates in the world you know." he said proudly.

Eli raised an eyebrow and leaned forward to look suspiciously into the boy's eyes, she had quickly learned to never trust the long nosed marksman. "Really ?"

Usopp promptly pulled back. "Yeah really !"

Eli narrowed her eyes and started to get closer again. "Really really ?"

"Really really !!" Usopp insisted angrily.

Ace laughed. "Really Twig ! Yasopp is in Shanks crew."

Eli turned to face the young man with wide eyes. "THE Shanks ?" she blinked, she had never met the man, but she knew that Luffy was his number one fan. "The no-one-touches-this-strawhat-it's-my-precious-treasure-and-my-promise-to-become-Pirate-King Shanks ?"

Ace nodded smiling.

Eli turned back to see Usopp crossing his arms proudly, she put her hand on his shoulder. "Sorry that I doubted your words Usopp."

The long nosed boy huffed. "You should always trust me young woman, because I never lie !"

"Hey you just did."

"No I didn't."

"Ohoh you did it again !"

"I did NOT !"

* * *

Two days later they could, at long last, spot their goal, Arlong Park.

Eli took the binoculars from Usopp to watch the pirates' base. It was a huge mansion located at the coast. It had five floors, on the wall of the third floor everyone could read in bold letters "Arlong Park". Eh ! They aren't even hiding, Eli though. On the top of the house was their Jolly Roger, a red saw-fish head.

"So how do we proceed ?" she asked giving the binoculars back.

"The Going Merry is over there." Usopp warned the rest of the crew in a cheerful manner. The boy had told her that the ship was given to the crew by a friend of his back on his home island, the way he talked about the Merry was genuinely caring, and so she was glad for him to see that the Merry was safe and sound.

Johnny looked at a map. "She had anchored close to Cocoyashi Village."

Eli brought a finger to her cheek and looked at the map questioningly. She might have been right thinking that she was going to steal the merman's treasure. What sort of thief would dock right before their prey's nest ?

"Then to Cocoyashi village we'll go." Ace concluded.

The crew was peacefully sailing toward the Merry when they saw three mermen looking at their boat from ashore, Usopp and Johnny gawked.

"Let's go back !" Usopp ordered trying to act as normal as possible, even though his legs were shaking like jelly.

Eli rolled her eyes, Usopp's cowardice was quite amazing, she had only witness it two times but she had already understood that it was going to be a running gag. "Freckles will take care of them." she turned to look at the young man. "Don't tell me..." Seeing that Ace was asleep, she hit her forehead. She will have to thank Luffy later for teaming her up with such reliable crewmates.

As Usopp and Johnny saw the mermen coming to investigate the boat, they instantly dove in the water, and swam away.

"Hey wait ! I can't swim !" Eli yelled at the two cowards.

She swung around when she heard a thump behind her, the mermen smirked. "So what brings you here missy ?"

She forced a smile. Quick quick think of something to say. "Sightseeing ?"

* * *

"I told you, we're on our honeymoon !" That was the most innocent and gullible excuse Eli could find. Who doesn't like newly weds ? Well mermen apparently.

The girl and Ace, still asleep, were tied facing a bunch of mermen in Arlong Park. One of them, probably Arlong, was interrogating Eli. He was a very large blue saw-shark, sitting in a very large armchair, it almost looked like a throne, and he had the most threatening smile she had ever seen.

The rest of the mermen were about twenty. Twenty huge monstrous marine beasts sneering at the girl, and under their malicious stares she felt tiny and weak.

She blamed herself for choosing not to fight the two mermen back on the boat but it was so small there was a high chance she'd end up in the sea, not to mention that her partner was heavily sleeping.

"You didn't chose your vacation location wisely missy." He sneered showing his large shark teeth. "And your husband as well !"

He laughed loudly soon imitated by his henchmen, Eli forced a smile feeling cold sweat building on her forehead. At least she made them laugh. That's a good thing right ? she thought to give herself some courage. Nervously she glanced at her partner. Ace wake up please...

Arlong must have follow the girl's eyes because now he was looking at Ace insistently. "I think... I've seen that boy somewhere..." He leaned forward and narrowed his eyes.

Frak ! The tattoo ! A shiver ran down her spine, if he saw it he'd surely know who her the sleeping young man was, and her "cover" would be kinda blown up to pieces. Eli fell on Ace's arm to protect his ASCE tattoo. "Don't touch my husband !" she managed to utter in spite of her throbbing heart.

"Don't you dare talk like that to Arlong pitiful human !" a merman barked punching the girl in the face.

He was about to punch her again when a familiar voice interrupted him. "I know them Arlong !"

"Nami !" Eli exclaimed. At first she was thankful for the girl's intervention, but then it hit her. She was walking casually in this creepshow and talking to the boss as is she knew him. What's going on here ?

"I know you've been following me, but I never thought you would actually come here." She crouched and looked closely at her two former crewmates. "Don't you get it ? I've been using you to steal your treasure. I'm part of Arlong's crew."

Eli was just stunned. If that was true then Luffy's judgment wasn't as reliable as she thought, but she couldn't quite believe it, the boy had a sixth sense for these things, then again she barely knew the girl, so she couldn't really make own her mind.

Arlong laughed loudly. "This woman would do anything for money, even forget the death of the own mother. You were very unlucky to cross the path of this cold blooded witch."

At those words Nami's face froze. Okay... What was that now ? Eli knew at that moment that the navigator was hiding something. But what...

"What do you want to do with them Nami ?" Arlong sneered.

She stood up. "Lock them up, I'll take care of them later." She said coldly walking away.

Right before Eli and Ace were being taken away, a merman came running to Arlong. "Boss ! The long nose guy got away from us. He's probably hiding in Cocoyashi Village."

Frak Usopp ! Eli bit her lip.

"Well I had to go to Cocoyashi Village anyway, I'll take care of him." Arlong sneered.

* * *

"It's been about 30 minutes now, wake up !" Eli said annoyingly, kicking Ace.

They were locked in a small and dark room, the girl had hear Arlong and a part of his crew leaving few minutes ago, which made her feel a little bit more secure. Eli was sitting facing the door and Ace was laying next to her. She was really angry at him right now, and seeing his sleeping freckled stupid face she couldn't help but wanting to kick him over and over again, which she did.

Ace opened his eyes slowly. "Hu... Was I asleep ?"

"Of course you were !" she snarled wondering if he could be even more annoying.

Ace sat up, and yawned. "Where are we ?"

"Arlong Park !" she replied coldly.

"What happened to your face Twig ?" Ace asked looking at the girl's swollen cheek.

"A merman happened ! Now untie me." she barked. How dare he acts as if he cared ? Her head snapped in the direction of the door hearing the lock clicking, she kicked Ace down. "Sleep !"

Nami entered the room, and looked at them coldly. Eli winced seeing that the girl had a dagger in her hand. "I want you to leave before Arlong gets back."

"What ?" Eli blinked looking at the navigator cutting her ties. Could she be more confusing ? Come on, who doesn't like dealing with a person who has a twisted behavior.

"I don't want you to get involved in my business." She crouched next to Ace and cut his ties. "Leave as soon as he wakes up. And use the back door."

Eli stood up and dusted her clothes. "Why do you help us ?"

"This is none of your business. Leave this Island ! I don't want to see you anymore !" Nami snarled, before leaving the room.

* * *

After getting out by the back door of Arlong Park, Ace and Eli were walking on a small road. The landscape was relaxing, a lot of trees and rice fields surrounded them, they could hear the birds chirping and the weather was nice.

The scenery really clashed with Eli's state of mind, she was still trying to process the recent events, focusing on Nami's mysterious behavior to distract herself from the anger she felt for her companion, even though he had already apologized profusely.

Eli sighed heavily. "This girl is tricky..."

"Well aren't you all ?" Ace said in a poor attempt to relax the atmosphere. She glared at him, apparently he wasn't aware he was digging his own grave. No, she wouldn't waste her energy answering that. And apparently her glare was enough since he broke eye contact clearing his throat.

"I'm sure she's hiding something." he said. "She had fun with the crew, and she wasn't faking it."

"Well she did help us escape..." she said tucking her hands behind her head.

"By the way where is Usopp ?" he asked.

Eli turned her head slowly toward him with wide eyes. "FRAK ! USOPP !"

to be continued

_

* * *

I like this chapter, I enjoyed writing scared and angry Eli._  
_She's not a sissy but come on, being tied in front of twenty vicious mermen... How would you react ?  
And I have to admit I liked being angry with Ace hehe._

**ThexWhitexPhoenix** : I can't quite change everything, I mean some events are really important there ! I hope you won't mind.

**Art-sama** : I have the same feeling :P Brotherhood is such a mysterious thing...


	11. Chapter 11

**Freckles**  
**chapter 11**

"Faster Freckles !" Eli yelled.

Ace was behind her trying to match the girl's speed. "Hey ! I... don't.. cheat.. like.. you..." he stammered breathing heavily.

"Yeah because being able to turn your all body into fire isn't cheating right ?"

Oh she was so happy to be able to outrun him so easily. She even took time to turn around to watch him suffer. He frowned seeing her smirk. Haha.

But her fun was soon interrupted by a loud noise coming from a forest nearby, it sounded like something big had crashed on the island.

Eli stopped. "What was that ?"

"Don't...know..." Ace was panting, his hands on his knees.

From the sound Eli could clearly picture that the thing that had crashed was coming their way dragging the whole forest with it.

"ACE ! ELI !" Luffy yelled.

A boat had just emerged from the forest, it was charging them digging a trench in the ground. Eli seized Ace's arm and thanks to her devilish speed they narrowly dodged the boat which ended crashing in a cliff not too far from them.

The boat was reduce to smithereens, but surprisingly the pirates on board seemed pretty much undamaged. A sigh of relief escaped Eli mouth seeing that Zoro was with them, obviously very much alive. Him and Sanji were casually sitting on the remains of the boat. Luffy was standing up dusting his clothes with a large grin on his face. Muffled sounds were coming from under the pile of wood, Yosaku wasn't as lucky as the others. Poor thing, traveling with monsters like them, oh wait I'll be traveling with them too, Eli thought walking toward the group.

"Oh Elisabeth ! I'm so glad to see you again !" Sanji jumped happily toward the girl with loving eyes. Coming closer he frowned. "Wait, what happened to your lovely face ?"

Eli touched her face, she had forgotten about the hit she had taken. Was it so obvious ? "A merman hit me. Anyway-"

"And you ! Why didn't you protect Elisabeth ?" Sanji was glaring at Ace.

The young man raised an eyebrow at the cook's incrimination.

Eli had to admit, she kind of enjoyed this, but it wasn't really a good time to have her revenge. She cleared her throat. "Anywayyyyy ! We have to rescue Usopp. Let's go !" She clapped repeatedly her hands to get the boys to move.

"What ? What happened to Usopp ? Where is Nami ? And Johnny ?" Luffy asked.

"USOPP IS DEAD !" Johnny had just emerged from a nearby forest. "Usopp was killed by Nami !"

* * *

The group was speechless. How could this be ? Nami may be a former crewmate but still... She had helped Eli and Ace escaped, so how could she kill Usopp ? Within the heavy silence Eli wondered if the rest of them were asking themselves the same questions.

"NAMI WOULD NEVER KILL USOPP ! WE ARE FRIENDS !" Luffy snarled.

Eli looked at him, she had never seen him so angry, his eyes were threatening, he almost looked like a beast. As a shiver ran through her body she folded her thin arms and started rubbing them absently. That wasn't right. This couldn't be...

"And just who is your friend Luffy ?"

Eli turned her drooping head around to see Nami standing in the middle of the road a few steps away from the group. She had these cold eyes again. Eli couldn't find anything to say, as the rest of the crew. They all stood there, looking at their former crewmate and friend.

"Nami ! I'm here to take you with us." Luffy stated in a determined manner. His resolve was honorable but didn't he see how cold she was, not to mention the fact that she might have killed Usopp.

"Listen. The only reason I befriended you was for the money. And now I don't need you anymore, so just leave you're an eyesore." she said sharply.

Eli was trying to see a flaw in her act, because it had to be an act ! She had seen her eyes when Arlong called her a cold blooded witch, and again she had freed Ace and her, there was no way Luffy could be wrong right ? But Luffy was young, he could have been tricked, he was just a boy after all... And why did she want them to leave that much ?

Eli was tired of this sick game she had do something, maybe pissing the girl off a bit to see how she'd react.

"You don't really look like you don't care..." Eli said walking slowly toward the girl. "Just quit the act already, it's tiring." She sighed insolently.

"You don't know me !" Nami snapped looking at the girl with fierce eyes.

"No I don't but I'm not blind, and I'm getting tired of this little game of yours." Eli frowned putting her hands on her hips.

Nami slapped her across the face. Ouch ! Eli could have dodge that but she wanted to see the girl's reaction, and it was there, remorse, she saw her bite her bottom lip before looking away. You're really a tricky one Nami.

Luffy let himself fall on the middle of the road, his hands behind his head. "I going to take a nap now."

Yosaku gawked. "SLEEP ? NOW ?"

"And you're going to sleep here ? In the middle of the road ?" Sanji asked, as confused and the bounty hunter.

"I don't want to leave this island, besides I feel a little sleepy now." Luffy said as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"DO WHAT YOU WANT AND GET YOURSELVES KILLED I DON'T CARE !" Nami shirked before running away. Oh she looked so pissed, and far from not caring.

* * *

The crew was waiting for their captain's next move. Yosaku and Johnny had left, and who could blame them, if what they saw was true, there was no reason to wait for Nami.

But that wasn't so simple, anyway Luffy didn't want to leave, so his crew had to wait for him and until then they were left with their thoughts, but Eli was tired of thinking, tired of trying to figure the pretty redhead out. She lay on the soft grass and looked at the blue sky, it always helped her clear her mind, just what she needed. A soft breeze brushed her puffy cheek, she didn't struggle when her eyelids slowly closed, and she soon fell asleep.

* * *

Eli had the strangest dream, Zoro and Sanji were fighting, each of them claiming he had the bigger boobs, then Usopp came boasting he had the greatest ones in the whole world, which led the first two to kick his ass, hard.

She sat up outright, someone's jacket falling off of her, she rubbed her eyes, and saw four pairs of eyes staring at her questioningly.

"Boobs ?" Luffy asked.

"Boobs ?" Eli was confused, was she still dreaming ?

"You said boobs." Sanji specified.

"Yep you did." Usopp added.

"Usopp ! You're alive." She pinched his cheeks, as if to see if it was really him and it was. "Hehe." she smiled happily.

This must have been a bit embarrassing for him since he stood up at once clearing his throat. "Anyhow... There must be a reason why Nami joined those mermen." he said in a serious tone.

"Give up already !"

A young woman was standing in the middle of the road. She had mid length blue hair, and tattoos covered her right arm.

"Nojiko !" Usopp looked surprised.

"Who's that ?" Luffy asked pointing a finger a the girl.

"She's Nami's elder sister." Usopp replied.

"Listen. I will tell you everything, and after you will have to leave this Island." Nojiko continued.

Luffy left for a walk, not wanting to hear about Nami's past. How could he ? That was a total mystery to Eli. Ok the boy liked when things were simple, but come on ! Wasn't he curious at all ? Obviously the rest of the crew was since they stayed and listened to Nojiko and Nami's story.

* * *

Nami and herself had been adopted by a woman named Bellemere, and they lived fairly happily even though they didn't have much money. Bellemere loved them both deeply, and they loved her back even if they were not blood related. But then came a day, a terrible day, the day Arlong's pirates came to Cocoyashi.

It happened eight years ago.

They came in the village and declared it was now theirs, and that from now on, every villagers had to pay to keep their life. 100.000 beli per adult, and 50.000 per child.

Bellemere only had 100.000 beli, and since she didn't give birth to the two girls, there were no records that they lived on the island. The villagers told the girls to leave Cocoyashi as fast as they could, that way they would be safe, and Bellemere too. But as she paid Bellemere said "That money is for my two daughters." And because of that she was killed, before her daughters' eyes.

Soon after the pirates found out that Nami, even though she was very young, was extremely skilled at drawing maps, so they took her with them.

She came back a few days later, to tell the villagers that she had joined Arlong's crew. Soon Nojiko found out that the little girl had made a pact with Arlong, she could buy Cocoyashi back for a 100 million beli.

* * *

"So please, don't get involved any more, or else her plan for the past eight years will be ruined." Nojiko concluded before walking away.

The crew was speechless. What could they say after hearing their friend's tragic past ? Eli clenched furiously her fists digging her nails in the palms of her hands.

"We have to help her." Sanji said sternly, his chivalrous instincts talking for him.

"I know but you heard Nojiko, if we get involved we might ruin what she did the past eight years !" Usopp reminded anxiously, Eli felt that for once it wasn't his cowardice that was restraining him, but the tricky situation their friend were in.

Eli stood up briskly. Damn mermen ! Nami had gone through so much, how could their friends do anything to ease her pain. Rage was boiling withing her. Frak ! She was so horrified she couldn't think clearly. She started walking up the road.

"Where are you going Twig ?" Ace asked grabbing her small shoulder.

"I... I want to talk to Nami." she stammered gritting her teeth.

"And what do you want to talk about ? You heard her sister right ?" He crossed his arms.

"I don't know Ace !" she yelled looking at him with wild eyes. "I don't know..." she repeated sadly drooping her head. She really didn't know she just felt in her boiling guts that she had to see her.

"I'll go with you then."

Five minutes later Ace and Eli arrived at Nami's house. They found a crowd gathered in the tangerine orchard, they were surrounding Nojiko who was lying on the floor, bleeding.

Eli's eyes widened, could anything be worse now. "What happened ?"

"She was shot by the marines, and they also took Nami's money." one of the villagers answered.

"Marines..." Ace muttered.

* * *

"Where are you going this time ?" Ace asked as he tried to match the girl's speed.

"Isn't it obvious Freckles ? I'm going to get Nami's treasure back." She smirked, now that she had found the perfect way to let off steam, she felt a little lighter. Running down the main street of Cocoyashi, she looked at the villagers thinking how hard these eight years must have been. The nightmare will soon be over, she thought.

Eli could see the marine ship, it was still docked at Cocoyashi. She sped up and jump on its railing.

"Who are you ?" a marine yelled.

"Good question ! But I've got a better one : where is Nami's treasure ?" Eli crossed her arms. Oh yeah she was going to enjoy this.

Ace jumped next to her. "You could have waited for me Twig." He raised an eyebrow at the girl.

She shrugged "I could..."

"You... You... You're Fire Fist Ace ! " a marine, obviously in charge of this ship, muttered pointing a shaky finger at the young man. He had whiskers, and wore a cap with mouse ears on the top. "Arrest them !" the man yelled bewildered stepping back.

Eli ran to him and grabbed his collar.

As a large number of marines were running toward her, Ace jumped in to stop them.

"Stop it here boys." He smirked, before knocking them effortlessly one after an other.

Seeing that the marines were in good hands Eli pulled the Captain Nezumi by the collar into the ship. "So tell me where the treasure is ?" A young marine rushed behind her brandishing a sword, she kicked him in the stomach her green wicked eyes never leaving Nezumi's. "Please ?" She sneered.

* * *

"Oi Freckles." Eli called. "I need your help."

As she arrived on the deck she could see that all the marines had been knocked out, or pretending to be. She smiled.

"Satisfied ?" Ace asked walking toward the girl.

"Very. Now come on, this is one hell of a treasure, I need you to help me carry it."

A low whistle escaped Ace's mouth when he entered the treasure room. There was half a dozen of big bags, Eli had opened them all only to find that they all contained gold coins, jewelry and bank notes. After closing a bag Eli throw it at the boy.

"Wait this is not hers." a weak voice said behind them. It was the Captain Nezumi apparently he had regained consciousness a bit too early.

"And ? We are pirates after all." Ace smirked.

Eli continued to throw bags at Ace thinking how much she enjoyed her new pirate's life.

"Hey wait !" It seems that the young was having a hard time holding the three large bags she had already threw, and feared that the fourth might definitely endanger his balance.

"What, don't you tell me that these muscles of yours are just for the show Freckles ?" she grinned tauntingly.

He sighed. "Let's go now, we'll come back in a minute for the rest."

to be continued


	12. Chapter 12

**Freckles**  
**chapter 12**

After getting the loot into safety, Eli and Ace ran to Arlong Park along the coastline. Apparently the rest of the crew was already there, and so were the villagers, well that's what the pair concluded seeing that the town was completely empty. The theft of Nami's treasure must have been the last straw for them.

Eli's heart pounded fast as she ran towards her friends, she couldn't help but being a little anxious for them. She had never seen them fight yet, except for Luffy and Sanji, and again it was never against a real enemy.

Eli bit her lip nervously. I hope they're ok, she thought. She looked over her shoulder at Ace who was running by her side. The wind blustered her short hair in her face, she raised her hand and slipped it though the tickling locks to hold them still. She wanted to ask him if he was he nervous too. But what was the point. All they had to do was get there, and get there fast.

He must have seen the worry in her eyes since he gave her a large cheering grin, she nodded and looked forward speeding up her pace.

On their way they ran into Usopp who was lying on the ground, they slowed down to walk to the boy. Hearing their footsteps he got up. Even though he had bruises all over his body, he grinned widely walking toward Eli and Ace.

"I did it !" he said cheerfully "I beat a merman !"

Eli looked around, and found the said merman lying unconscious in a rice field.

"He was Arlong's right-hand man, you know ? But I showed no fear !" Usopp boasted resting his hands on his hips.

Ace and Eli smiled at the boy. "That's great Usopp !" she congratulated giving the thumbs up. He looked so happy, that must have been hard for him to fight all alone against his opponent, but he did it, and she was really proud of him.

Ace cleared his throat to remind his two euphoric crewmates that the battle might be still raging in Arlong Park, they nodded and started running.

* * *

When they approached Arlong Park they saw a crowd gathered near the gate, they soon recognized some of the villagers they had seen earlier. Nami was there too, facing Arlong with fear in her eyes.

Eli's eyes widened when she saw that the redhead was wearing Luffy's strawhat. She had almost never seen the boy's hat on someone else's head. She turned around to look at Ace's cowboy hat. I wonder if he'd let me... she thought. The girl shook her head rapidly to get rid of her frivolous interrogation and focused on the current, and more important situation. "Where is Luffy ?"

"He's in the sea." Sanji replied. Eli turned her head to look at him, he was next to Arlong, on his knees, Zoro was beside him, lying unconsciously on the floor. "He's ok, I just have to go and free him."

"Like I'll let you pitiful human !" Arlong sneered kicking the young man on his back making him cough out some blood. Eli winced, the two fighters seemed to have reached their limits.

Ace walked to the cook. "I'll hold that fish for you then." he said cracking his fingers. Sanji glanced a second at him, before diving in the water.

Arlong looked surprisingly at his opponent. "You're the honeymooner from before."

Ace blinked confusedly. "What ?" He looked at Eli over his shoulder his eyes saying 'What the heck is he talking about ?'

The girl had already completely forgotten about her little lie, she smiled timidly. "I'll tell you later !"

Ace turned his head back to face Arlong. The two of them were about five steps away, each of them silently eyeballing his opponent, the only sound heard was the soft rustle of waves emphasizing the heavy tension. The audience was waiting speechlessly for one of them to make the first move.

"Shahahahaha !" Arlong laughed loudly. "Aren't you going to attack me ?"

Ace smirked. "I'm just here to hold you until my captain arrives. He won't forgive if I kicked your ass."

True, Eli thought. Luffy would be quite pissed off if his older brother took care of the main boss instead of him.

Arlong's eyes darken. "Weakling !" he snarled with a disgusted look on his face before jumping toward Ace with his mouth open. The young man swiftly crouched to evade the sharp teeth, and shot his legs into the shark's, tossing him on the floor. Arlong stood up slowly, looking scornfully at his smirking opponent. He huffed and without further notice rushed him swinging his saw-nose. Ace hopped backwards dodging his every attack effortlessly.

Eli chuckled lightly, Ace didn't even have to use his fire abilities to piss the merman off. She felt that the crowd gathered behind her had regained hope seeing their oppressor ridiculized so easily. They were making all sorts of cheering sounds looking at the comedy show. Ace must have noticed it too since his movements became more acrobatic owning him some "Oooh" and "Aaah" from the amazed audience.

* * *

But the show was soon interrupted by a long scream coming from Arlong Park's main gate.

"I'M BAAAAAAAAACK !" Luffy yelled happily flying in the sky above Arlong park. "Ace !" he cried falling toward his brother.

Ace took a side step for his little brother to land. But to his surprise, and everyone's, Luffy stretched his arm to grab Ace's shoulder. "SWITCH !!" And send him flying high into the sky.

"MORON !!" everyone scolded in unison.

Eli slapped her forehead before running toward Ace. She gritted her teeth seeing him fall in the sea. Of course, Luffy HAD to send the devil fruit user in the sea.

"SANJI !" she called desperately, noticing that the cook was still in the water. "Could you fetch Ace please ? He can't swim !"

"Anything for you Elisabeth !" Sanji replied warmly before diving in the water.

Eli stretched her legs, they were sore from all the running around. Ever since she had left Fuschia she had been basically stuck on her little boat, or strolling around towns. She scolded herself for not training enough and took a mental note to run everyday from now on.

A minute later she raised her head in the direction of a splashing sound, Sanji had just emerged from the sea, and he was now swimming toward her with one arm as the other one was tightly tied around Ace's inanimate body.

Eli keeled down to help Sanji getting hammer boy out of the water. "Thank you Sanji." She smiled at him, hitting Ace's chest with her fist until he started coughing water.

Sanji sat leaning against the wall. "You're welcome my dear." He reached his pocket for a cigarette. "So this is Ace." He tried to light a matchstick, and an other but they were all wet from all the swimming, he sighed.

Ace sat up and ignited the tip of his cigarette. "Yep, you can also call him matchstick." Eli grinned sitting in the keeling position.

"We haven't been introduced yet. I'm Ace, Luffy's brother. Nice to meet you." Ace bowed politely.

"Thanks, and I know Elisabeth used to talk about you all the time, I'm Sanji by the way." He puffed his cigarette.

Ace turned his head to look at Eli with a wide smirk. "Is that so ?"

"Oh look Luffy's got new teeth." Eli said evading the self satisfied look on the young man's freckled face.

* * *

Ace slapped his forehead seeing how ridiculous his brother looked with his "new teeth", which originally were Arlong's. Apparently the shark could grow them over and over again. In addition to his deadly jaws, he held one in each of his hand snapping them as if there were castanets, Eli gritted her teeth to the excruciating music.

Arlong charged Luffy with his deadly castanets, and snapped them in the boy's rubber stomach. The crowd gasped in horror. But Luffy wasn't easily defeated, he launched his pistol punch in Arlong's face sending him flying a few meters away.

Luffy slowly got up pushing himself with his arms, he winced extracting the jaws still stuck in the stomach. When he looked around for his opponent, he was nowhere to be found. "IN THE SEA" Usopp warned pointing a fin protruding above the surface of the water. This isn't good, Eli thought. Mermen are creature of the sea after all, and attacking from the water should give Arlong the upper hand.

The fin disappeared for a second, making Luffy lean forward to search for the shark. "Shark on... DARTS !!!" Arlong propelled himself out of the water like a torpedo right into the last floor of the mansion, taking Luffy with him.

The attack was so fast. "Did he hit Luffy ?" Sanji asked Eli worriedly, knowing that the girl, with the help of her devil powers, must have seen exactly what happened.

"Of course not !" Eli smirked proudly, she had trained with the boy for a few years, and this was nothing compared to the girl's speed.

* * *

"The left room of the highest floor.... The navigation room..." Nami muttered, her wide eyes locked dazedly on the said room.

The crowd was stunned with expectation, wondering what was going on in the mansion. After a few minutes of silence, the fight roared again, louder and louder.

A little desk fell from one of the windows, followed by numerous sheets of paper.

Ace grabbed one of them, to examine it, before handing it to Eli. It was a map, the girl looked at the sheets of papers scattered in the sky by the wind, the hundreds of maps that Nami had made for Arlong within the past eight years. She smiled heartily, Luffy wasn't the smartest chicken in the coop, but sometimes he did things like that, instinctively, and it was just perfect.

Eli looked at Nami, streams of tears flowed from her eyes. The nightmare was finally over.

Luffy stretched his leg up in the air and launched it on the mansion. Everyone watched in bewilderment as the huge building collapsed with an earth shattering noise.

"Nami !" Luffy was standing on the pile of rubble that was once Arlong Park. "YOU ARE ONE OF US NOW !!"

* * *

The villagers were overjoyed. "Arlong Park is destroyed !" they sang happily throwing their hero in the air, who probably wasn't even aware of the importance his fight had for the people of this island. Luffy was laughing like a child, bouncing up and down in the air, without a care in the world.

Eli swung around when footsteps were heard behind the joyous group. She frowned seeing Nezumi and a dozen of marines approaching, probably seeking help from Arlong.

A marine pointed a shaky finger at the pair who had previously raided their ship. "Fire Fist Ace and... the boy from before !!"

It wasn't the first time someone mistook the tall and skinny Eli for a boy, and every time it had ended in a bloodbath. Ace slammed his hands on his mouth to refrain himself from laughing.

Eli's reaction was immediate. "THE WHAT !?" She jumped on the marine and pined him violently to the ground. "Repeat that if you DARE !" The girl grabbed the young man's collar and pulled him closing gap between their faces, staring furiously in his eyes her orbs filled with bloodlust.

Ace grabbed her small shoulders and pulled her away from the marine who looked like he was about to piss in his pants.

Ace was having a hard time restraining the hysterical girl. "I'LL EMASCULATE YOU DICKHEAD !" As she kicked him repeatedly, harshly, he tightened his grip on her tiny waist making her suffocate.

"Look it's too late to ask help from your associate, Nezumi. My captain already took care of him." He turned his head toward Luffy.

Eli struggled in the young man's strong arms. "LET ME GO !!" She elbowed him in the chin.

"Arlong was defeated by this kid ?!" Nezumi yelled bewildered.

"Yes, and now I suggest you go before I unleash the beast."

Nezumi and his marines gulped looking at the frenzied girl, before running away their tails between their legs.

"I'M GOING TO KILL THEM !" she yelled furiously looking at her fleeing preys.

to be continued

* * *

_Yes, Eli can be mistaken, for a boy, because she's REALLY tall (a bit taller than Ace) and REALLY flat (and her hair are a little short, and she doesn't wear skirts...)  
I noticed that there are no flat female in One Piece, what a shame ! Big boobs are over rated, come and join my cause !_

_The fighting scenes were hard to write, I hope they're not too bad._

**ThexWhitexPhoenix **: Got your answers I guess :)  
And I like cocky Eli too but it was kinda easy since she was facing puny marines hehe.

**Art-sama** : I can't really control the length of the chapters, but trying to keep than longer than 1500 words is my goal ! Is that good ?

**iBeautifullyBroken **: My third reviewer ! Me so happy, me cry ! Thank you.  
I think it's something like that, and something about the threat of the blow too :)


	13. Chapter 13

**Freckles**  
**chapter 13**

Eli sighed lying down on the bed. The crew was now in Cocoyashi's clinic. The doctor had treated Sanji, Usopp and Luffy's minor injuries, and was now stitching Zoro up, the brave swordsman had received a large wound across his chest from his fight with Hawkeye.

Sanji had told the girl about his battle with the Shichibukai. Once she had removed all the 'shitty' 'moron' and 'stupid' from his tale, she had concluded that it must have quite amazing.

She winced seeing the doctor piecing the young man's skin with a large needle, and rolled around as the horror scene made her, to say the least, quite uncomfortable, but she could still hear the swordsman's growls and hisses. She stood up abruptly. "Come on ! Anesthetize him for frak sake !"

"Anesthesia is for sissies." Zoro said through his teeth.

Eli rolled her eyes exaggeratedly and lied down on the bed. Yeah right ! Tell me that again when you'd stop whining like a little girl... she thought burying her head under the pillow.

"Don't you have a doctor on board ?" the doctor asked.

"A doctor ? That's interesting." Luffy rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "But we have to find a musician first."

"No Luffy a doctor comes first." Ace retorted wagging his finger.

"But Ace !"

"We talked about it already !"

"I got a navigator like you told me !"

"And that's good Luffy but-"

"And a cook !"

"Yeah that's important too, now you-"

"I want a musician now !" Luffy crossed his arm and stomped his foot on the ground.

"I know you do but a doctor is way more important !"

"But Aaaaaace !" Luffy cried indignantly looking at his older brother with big whiny eyes.

The other pirates looked at the argument with disbelief. Oh god he still does _the face_, Eli though blinking rapidly to make sure she wasn't hallucinating.

Ace was silently looking at his little brother, trying to hold the stare, before sighing and patting the little boy on the head. And _the face_ still works...

* * *

After a short and well deserved nap, Eli decided to take a shower, and since there will be a celebration tonight, she borrowed some make up from the doctor's wife to try to conceal the bruise she had on her cheek.

After getting out of the shower, she searched through her bag for clean clothes. She slipped on a dark blue shorts, and a tight white t-shirt.

The girl arranged the tools and make up on the bathroom's counter-top, before examining her ecchymosis. It was covering almost all of her cheek, and its color was kind of reddish-purplish, in any case, hard to miss.

She was about to apply some foundation cream when she heard the doorknob creak.

"DON'T COME IN I'M NAKED." she lied, not wanting to be disturbed during her delicate procedure.

But the door opened any way, Eli blinked disbelievingly.

"I knew you were bluffing." Ace said casually looking at the not naked girl.

Eli frowned at the young man. "Right... Of course..."

He laughed, putting his clean clothes on the bathroom counter-top and walked to the shower.

"Hey what are you doing ?" Eli turned around as he started undressing.

"Taking a shower."

"I'm not finished."

"I've lived for two years in a ship with 12 other crewmates and only one bathroom. Better get used to it." The water started to flow from the shower. "There was this time when-"

"Oh boy, I don't wanna hear it !" Eli cut off. She really didn't want to picture a story involving dirty pirates and only one bathroom.

At least he wasn't noisy so she could focus on her task. She applied the foundation all over her contusion but since that wasn't enough she added blush on the apples of the cheeks. Looking at her reflection the girl was a bit sad to see that all the make up had efficiently concealed the little beauty spot she had under her left eye, but not the purplishness of her bruise.

Right after the water had stopped flowing, there was a bright light coming from the shower and quickly thick steam filled the small room. The girl coughed rushing to the window ventilate the room.

"I see, you don't need towel, how convenient." she said looking outside as she heard Ace getting out of the shower. "Can you also toast bread ?"

"Yup."

"Iron clothes ?"

"Never tried that. You can turn around by the way."

"Roast chicken ?"

"Mmhmhh"

"So you can actually be useful... as a toaster and an oven." She walked to the mirror. "Hairdryer ?"

"For someone else ? Might be dangerous."

"Bed-warmer ?"

"Sure can do." he said with a wide smirk implying some other kind of bed warming.

I'm sure you do... Eli thought rolling her eyes.

She looked over her shoulder hearing the doorknob creak. "I'M NAKED DON'T COME IN."

"Ok... Hurry up then !" Zoro said before walking away.

Eli pointed the door with her thumb. "See that's how you should have reacted."

"You shouldn't be so happy, it only means he doesn't want to see you naked." Ace grabbed his toothbrush. "By the way you look like a clown."

Eli mumbled some insults looking at her reflection. She couldn't really disagree though, she hardly ever used make up, and her attempt to conceal her bruise was an epic failure. After washing her face, she decided that she'd be better off without any make up at all.

She started brushing her teeth, next to Ace. Looking at him in the mirror, she smirked seeing she was still taller than him. At least I still beat him at that, she thought.

"ELI ! ARE YOU STILL IN THERE ?" Usopp yelled behind the door.

"YES AND I'M NAKED."

"...Ok...I thought you were the fastest being in the world ! Hurry up please !"

Ace grinned. "Shee ? No one wantch to shee youu nakeg." he said with his toothbrush in his mouth.

She was starting to get pissed off by his mocking. She may not have the sexiest body in the world but she was still a girl, and no girl likes to be depreciated like that. She gave him the evil face stomping his toe with her foot.

"Oukch !"

Brushing her teeth she observed his reflection. She was amused to see he was giving off a sort of playboy vibe and seeing him combing his hair with his fingers, she couldn't help but burst out laughing, spewing toothpaste on the mirror.

"WHAK !?"

"Oh Gog !" she laughed louder tears in the corner of her eyes looking at Ace's frowning face.

After a minute she finally calmed down and cleaned the mirror. But the young man was still frowning angrily at her.

She cleared her throat and smiled at his reflection "Sorry."

A small sigh escaped his nose, but he didn't look mad anymore. After all he must have been used to this kind of treatment, it wasn't any different than three years ago when they lived together. He smiled back at her reflection before bending forward to rinse his mouth.

"I'm glad you're here Freckles." she said warmly.

He left up his head and raised a questioning eyebrow. It looked like he was about to say something but the sound of the turning doorknob interrupted him.

The pair swung around to look at the door. "I'M NAKED !" Eli said for the fourth time, apparently still wanting to test the crew's morality.

As the doorknob slowly turned back to its original position, Ace gently elbowed the girl with a satisfied look on his face which quickly morphed into confusion when they heard the doorknob move again, slower, then stopped again. The pair was looking curiously at the door, the person behind that door was manifestly facing a moral dilemma. After a few seconds of silence Ace smirked proudly pointing his toothbrush at the girl whose shoulders slumped under the weight of her utter defeat.

The door slammed open, producing a powerful gust blowing Ace and Eli's hair away.

The look on Sanji's face morphed from pervy joy to complete disappointment and quickly into anger seeing that Eli was, in fact, far from naked and, as if to deepen his misery, not alone.

* * *

The crew celebrated all night, eating, drinking, dancing with the overjoyed villagers.

When Eli woke up the next morning, well more noon that morning, she had a severe migraine, and a really bad taste in the mouth, it was something between old sock and milk that had gone bad. Walking to the kitchen she was glad to be welcomed by Sanji handing her a large plate of pancakes.

During the late breakfast most of the crew was silent, apparently they were all suffering from a serious hangover. Sticking to his colors Luffy was being annoyingly noisy which made the rest of the crew punish him with two slaps, a kick, three punches and finally a major beat down.

In the afternoon Eli decided to write about their recent adventure in her book. She strolled down Cocoyashi's main street, enjoying the nice weather, and the happy faces of the villagers.

After retrieving her book Eli took a country side road along the coastline. The scenery of the island was really similar to Fuschia, which was relaxing for the girl. Her little stroll lead her to a familiar swordsman training against his doctor's advice.

"Can I sit here ?" she asked walking to him.

The swordsman looked at the girl over his shoulder, before returning to his weightlifting.

I guess this is a yes, Eli concluded. She sat down against a tree near the young man.

Looking at him she wondered how she could bond a little with him. He seemed a bit grumpy, and focused on his training, so she was torn between her desire to get to know him and her unwillingness to bother him.

Yet she took a shot. "How did Luffy made you join the crew ?"

"He made me choose between a firing squad and becoming a pirate." Zoro replied, still focused on his weights.

"Haha, sounds like him. You start regretting your choice aren't you ?" Eli jested.

Zoro gave her a smile.

Ok, that's a beginning, she thought.

"Would you tell me how your powers work ?" the swordsman asked.

Eli pondered a minute, since the young man showed some interest in her, she wanted to give him the better answer possible. "Just like, Luffy is rubber, and Ace is fire, I am speed. I can do everything faster that anyone, think, run, see, talk, everything..." She put her book down and brought her knees to her chest. "Like you know speed is weight, speed is power, and if I were to hit this cliff with a top speed kick, I'd surely destroy it." Zoro raised an eyebrow and looked at her putting his weights down, Eli smiled seeing she had caught his attention. "But the problem is that my body is fairly weak, so I'll end up crashing my every bones in the process. So during a battle I have to dodge every attacks until I see and opening to strike, not to mention that I also have a major stamina issue, so I can't let the fight go on for too long." She sighed deeply and looked at the clear blue sky above her. "I guess I wasn't the best person possible to get the power of this fruit, if someone like you had it, he would be invincible."

Zoro stayed silent for a moment. Looking at the girl with his piercing and emotionless eyes. "If you have it, it's because you were meant to have it." he said impassively.

Eli blinked. That was sharp, simple, almost naive. The girl knew that there was no such things as coincidence in this world yet she had never applied this undeniable truth to her own situation. She smiled at him. "Thanks."

The girl stood up and walked to the swordsman. "Hey wanna train with me ?"

Zoro raised an eyebrow eyeballing the girl. "Why not." He drew his sword.

Eli eyed the sharpness of the blade, and gulped apprehensively. "Wait ! You're not actually gonna use your sword right ?"

"I'll use the back of the blade." he replied stolidity.

"Hey why don't you use one of these bamboo blades ?"

"Bamboo blades are for sissies."

Eli took a step toward the young man and rested her hand of his shoulder, he cocked an eyebrow glancing at her hand. She took a deep breath and looked gravely into his black orbs. "Let's say I'm a sissy then..."

to be continued

* * *

_I forgot to ask before, do you think Eli should get a bounty, since she raided the marine ship with Ace ?  
Nothing huge though..._

**To my reviewers** : Firstly thank you, reading your reviews keeps me alive.  
And I really liked the fact that you quoted the bits you liked. Thanks :)

**ThexWhitexPhoenix** thank you for reviewing so fast YOU'RE the best.

How did you like 'those situations I created on my own' **Art-sama** ? There will be some more in the next chapter too.

Be proud of your flatness **iBeautifullyBroken **!

_I'll update soon~_


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14  
****Parma Melon**

Every night after the liberation was a night for celebration, and even after three nights of intense partying the villagers' joy didn't seem to lessen. However, Eli was a bit tired of drinking and eating and dancing until she would faint. Therefore, this night, the chronicler was sitting in a quiet alley with Zoro and Sanji.

Relaxed, the three pirates watched the festivities from afar. The swordsman was drinking silently, while the cook and the chronicler mocked their captain; the teen was running all around like a hyperactive child. Relentlessly, he stuffed his rubbery mouth with food and more food, the volume of his belly growing extensionally each time he passed by.

It was nice, enjoying the joyous atmosphere in company of her new crewmates.

After some time, however, Eli started to feel hunger striking again her stomach.

"I'll go get some more of this Parma melon delicacy !" Eli stood up, and dusted her shorts. "Want anything guys ?"

"Booze," Zoro said.

"No thank you Elisabeth," Sanji said before lighting a cigarette. "I'm completely full."

"Okay, be right back."

Walking up the street toward the Parma melon booth, Eli chuckled lightly as she spotted Usopp on a tower-like stack of tables. The sniper was singing one of his fantastic tales in front of a thrilled audience.

"And now Captain will sing you how he defeated the mighty mermen !"

Upon arriving to the Parma melon's booth, Eli was warmly welcomed by the waitress who beamed at the girl quite brightly. She was cute, around 16 years old. She had long wavy blond hair, was fairly small and wore an apron over her fluffy yellow dress.

"I'm glad you came back," Her voice was sweet and, somehow, unsure. "You want some Parma melon right ?" she asked, pulling at the hem of her apron nervously.

"Yes please." Eli nodded and couldn't help the smile on her face before the waitress utter cuteness.

As the girl gazed at Eli a bright blush made its way to her cheeks, and rapidly, she turned around to serve a plate.

_Oh god... She thinks I'm a guy, isn't she ?_ Eli slapped her forehead.

The chronicler could have been mad, but everyone was celebrating and in the midst of this joyous prevailing mood the boyish girl managed to stay serene, almost amused. Not to mention that said girl had the power over the Parma melon, and no one messes with Parma melon. Therefore Eli decided not to contradict her while hoping that this infatuation would turn in her advantage.

_More Parma melon for me,_ Eli turned her head to her side to hide the smirk that had involuntary made its way to her lips.

"Here you go." The waitress handed clumsily a large plate, her face turning crimson when her fingers brushed Eli's.

_Must be because of Sanji's vest, it has to be ! _Eli thought while inspecting her outfit.

The night was fresh and so the pirate girl was wearing Sanji's vest on top of her usual outfit. It was too large for her small shoulders, and a bit too short for her long body, but at least it was warm.

_Maybe I should wear pink, pink means girl right ? But I hate pink... I could try high socks that would definitely be more feminine. Must be a bother when you run, though. _Eli looked at the red giggling waitress, noticing that she was wearing a headband. _Oh, a headband, that's nice, _she thought and as she was lost in her cogitation the boyish girl noticed that the waitress' lips were moving which, obviously, meant that she was talking.

"Ah sorry, I was lost in my thoughts and I didn't quite hear what you said..." she trailed off with a sheepish laugh, scratching the back of her head.

"Oh !" the waitress squeaked, briskly straightening up as she did. "Don't be sorry. I wanted to know if you'd like to try our melon juice." She looked at Eli with a beaming smile.

"I would love to !"

Despite of her slightly shaking hands the waitress managed to pour the orange liquid in a glass, she handed it shyly to Eli.

"Thanks !" Eli grinned before walking away to find booze for Zoro.

"WAIT !" the waitress called out running toward Eli.

The pirate girl spun on her heels and looked questioningly and the waitress as she placed a hand over her chest while she stared her tiny feet.

"I...hum... Could you... tell me your... name ?" she stammered timidly.

At that moment Eli felt a sting of guilt on her heart. She obviously should have told the poor girl that she wasn't a boy, but somehow, the pirate didn't have the courage to break the waitress' heart. After all she would soon leave the island and the girl would obviously forget her sudden infatuation with ease.

"I'm Eli," she said, giving the waitress a gentle smile. "Thanks for the melon it's delicious."

As she walked away, the pirate girl waved the cute waitress goodbye before disappearing in the crowd.

"COME BACK ANYTIME !" the girl cried out.

Eli released her frustration in the form of a sigh. It was not as if she had ever made any kind of effort to be more feminine, but still, being mistaken for a boy, even if it was a really good looking boy, was obviously depressing.

The girl shook her head rapidly. Why did it even matter ? It wasn't as if she wanted to charm anyone... was she ?

"Is that melon ?"

"Luffy !" Eli squealed, startled by the boy's sudden apparition. On the spot she caught his hungry stare at her plate. "Yup- Oi !" She kicked him in the stomach before he could touch her precious dish. "It's mine !"

"I want some..." Luffy whined. Sometime Eli wondered if he had really grown up. "Where did you find it ?"

Eli showed him the direction of the Parma melon booth with her chin and, before she could add anything, the boy started running away.

"Oi !" she shouted before he disappeared in the crowd. "Tell the waitress you're a friend of Eli's."

On her way back to the alley, the chronicler looked for Zoro's booze. Since her two hands were already taken, Eli opted for a barrel of some random alcohol, grog probably, that she pushed with her foot toward the little alley.

Walking with difficulty through the crowd, she came across a group of giggling teenage girls.

"Oh, my, god... It's really him !"

The squeaking voice caught Eli's attention. Stealthily, she joined the group and, following their stares, her eyes fell on a familiar orange cowboy hat. A large smirk on her face, the pirate girl listened to their conversation with delight. They were talking about his hair, his muscles, and his feats so amorously that Eli had the hardest time concealing her laughter. After some time, her growing convulsions didn't go unnoticed by the group and as her restraints torn loose; the girl's laughing fit earned her some interrogating looks from the groupies.

Reluctantly, she withdrew, wiping the tears in the corner of her eyes with her forearm. Eli was aware that Ace was good looking but she had never thought she would ever witness something like that, and so, she wondered what have happened while he was traveling alone. During those three years the occasions probably didn't go amiss.

At that thought, a hint of discomfort tightened on her insides; while she was mistaken for a boy, her old friend aroused desire of a dozen of cute girls and he didn't even have to look at them.

_Unfair..._

* * *

As she finally came back to the alley, Zoro welcomed the girl with a large grin, or was it the barrel of alcohol she was bringing with her ?

"Where is Sanji ?" Eli sat down on the wooden box previously occupied by the cook.

"He left to 'get some girls'," Zoro replied nonchalantly, while pouring himself a pint of grog.

Eli rolled her eyes out of annoyance. "Is it mating season or something ?"

"How should I know."

Eli chuckled lightly, At least Zoro would probably be the only one not affected by those superficial considerations. It had only been a few weeks since she had met the green-haired man but she had already understood that he only had eyes and heart for one thing; his swords. Somehow it was comforting, and the chronicler inwardly scolded herself for her previous frivolous state of mind.

Light-heartedly, the hungry girl dug in her plate of Parma melon. The saltiness of the Parma fitting the fresh sweetness of the melon to perfection. The juice was absolutely delicious as well and, inwardly, Eli thanked the cute waitress.

"Yo !" Ace greeted crouching before his two mates. "I found something for you Twig."

"Really ?" The girl clapped her hands excitedly like a child before Christmas. "What is it ?"

"Tadaaaa !" Ace held up proudly a bottle of litchi liqueur.

"LITCHI !" she cried out clasping her hands her hands together.

The girl licked her lips with delectation as she watched the young man pouring the colorless liquid in a small glass. Ace handed her the pony before serving his and Eli took a deep intake of air, filling her nostrils with the delicious sent. As her jade eyes glimmered with sensuous delight, the chronicler reckoned that it had been long since she hadn't had the chance to taste the sweet nectar. Much too long... Voraciously, she swallowed its content in one gulp; it was smooth and refreshing, with a silky texture that ravished her palate.

On the spot, the delighted girl held out her empty glass for a refill.

"Where is your fan-club by the way ?" Eli asked before gulping her second shot.

Ace raised a questioning brow. "Fan-club ?"

"You know the..." Eli hit her chest with her fist and cleared her throat. "OH MY GOD... It's Fire Fist Ace ! NOOOO ? Oh my god you're right, it's really him ! Fire Fist Portgas D. Ace ! Aaaaaaah ! Huhuhuhu ! Hihihihihi !"

Zoro burst in laughter, which made the girl highly proud, Ace, however, didn't seem too pleased as he frowned at her harshly. "Ok, no more litchi for you !"

"Oh please, please, please, I'll behave !" She clasped her hands together pleadingly and gave him a puppy face.

To her delight, the young man sighed in retreat and gave her an other drink.

"Litchi is my favorite favorite, favorite drink in the whole wide world !" she said tipsily while inhaling the sweet and fruity fragrance.

Eli drank silently a few more glasses before starting to feel really _happy_. Her face had turned red and her vision was now, somehow, fuzzy. Staring at the flame user's hat-less head, she remembered some other things the girls had said and chewed on her bottom lip to refrain herself from laughing.

"What ?" Ace asked frowning at her mocking face.

"Nothing," she muttered, her eyes focusing on her drink.

"Tell me Twig..." he said in a low and dangerous tone of voice.

Now looking at him, Eli couldn't hold it anymore, and after all he asked for it.

"Oh my GOD ! I want to touch his hair... I can't believe he's so hot ! I'll ask him out ! NO I'LL ask him out ! NO ME !" she sputtered using an annoyingly high pitched voice.

"Ok that's it ! I'm leaving !" He stood up under Eli and Zoro's loud laughs. "Don't let her drink anymore !"

Zoro cocked a brow at the flame user's request. "I'm not her mom..."

"I like you Zoro !" The girl raised her glass toward the swordsman. "Your my favorite, favorite, favorite guy in the whole wide world !"

Ace let out a deep sigh as he put his hat back on his head. "Everyone is your favorite right now..." he said in an exasperated tone.

"Ohh don't be jealous Freckles, you know you're my favorite, favorite, favorite, favorite, favori-"

"He's gone Eli."

"Oh..." Eli looked at the empty spot previously occupied by her friend and shrugged her guilt away. Groggily, she slipped down the box and reached out for the bottle, thanking Ace inwardly for leaving it behind.

"Let's have a drinking contest Roronoa Zoro !" she said while pouring herself a glass.

A few minutes, and four glasses later, Eli ran to the nearest bush to throw up... So much for a contest.

* * *

After emptying her stomach, the girl rolled wearily on her back and inhaled deeply some fresh air. She gazed dreamily at the night sky, wondering if she could walk back to the small alley or if she should just rest here until she regained some strength.

Hearing footsteps, Eli raised her head and peered curiously in the direction of the faint footfalls.

"It had to be you right ?" she sighed and let her dizzy head fall on the grass.

A smile on his face, Ace crouched to her side. "Are you alright ?"

"I kinda feel like shit if you really want to know." Eli ran her fingers through her sweaty fringe. "It's all your fault though... I should punish you with my deadly vomit breath..."

Ace laughed softly looking at her pitiful state, and got up offering her a hand to help her stand up. However, the girl's legs didn't seem very cooperative and Eli almost fell back on the ground, barely catching his hand at the last moment.

"Want me to carry you ?"

_Crawling painfully or getting a pity ride ?_ the girl pondered. Seeing she couldn't even stand up without his help, Eli nodded timidly.

"You're actually not asking for a 'bridal style'," Ace jested before turning around to give his crewmate his large back for her to climb on.

Clumsily, Eli secured her arms around his neck and wrapped her legs around his waist. "I'm not a kid anymore Freckles..." she mumbled in his broad shoulder.

Ace chuckled and started walking smoothly toward the alley. His faint and regular footsteps on the grass filling her ears, Eli's body easily got comfortable. Somehow his warmth made her feel nostalgic and, soaking gradually in its tenderness, the pirate girls began to feel drowsy. The chronicler closed her eyes, a deep, relaxing sigh escaping her chapped lips as she let her mind float in the darkness.

"You're right, your breath is really deadly," Ace teased.

"Shut up..."

* * *

The morning of the departure the crew was on the Merry waiting for Nami. The villagers had gathered on the docks to say goodbye to their saviors. Johnny and Yosaku were also here to take their leave. Their voices filled with emotion they thanked the pirates, wishing them good luck for their adventures.

"She hasn't arrived yet." Usopp was looking at the distance shielding his eyes with his hand. "Maybe she's not coming."

"What ?" Sanji started to panic, frantically looking around in distress. "My lovely Nami is not coming with us ?"

"She's our friend. She'll come." Luffy didn't seem to worry. "Oh, Eli, the melon girl gave me that for you." He pulled out a slightly crumpled pink envelope from his pocket and handed it to the girl.

_Oh god... _Eli looked at the envelope with embarrassment. It was addressed to 'Eli from the Straw Hat Pirates'. The handwriting was as girlie as she would expect it to be, the letters being curvy and swirly, and the point on the i of 'Eli' was a small circle.

Releasing a deep sigh, the chronicler wondered if she should open it or not. Nothing could be considered good coming from a pink letter, from which emanated a flowery scent. But after all, it would be rude to ignore it, and so, Eli walked to a quieter part of the ship while glaring at the envelope.

"What is it ?"

"AH !" Eli spun on her heel while hiding the letter behind her back. "Usopp ! You sneaky bastard ! You scared me !"

The girl went stiff as the long-nosed teenager tilted his head on the side, trying to see what she was hiding, and so, a curious little dance began between the two pirates.

To the right. "What-" "Don't !"

To the left. ''Let me-" "NO !"

And so on and so forth...

"Oh.. my... god..." Eli faltered, a panicking look on her face. "Don't look back... There's a giant octopus behind you..."

Despite her warning the teen turned slowly his head over his shoulder, his face bleached with horror.

"Hehe." Eli smirked and disappeared in a flash.

A split second later, the paramecia locked herself the bathroom, sat on the floor. With a deep intake of air, she opened the envelope and pulled the letter with care.

_Dear Eli,_

_I don't know how it happened, but meeting you has turned my world upside down. When I set my eyes on you, it just hit me; there is something really special about you._

_I know you're gone for a long journey and I'd never dare to keep you away from your dream. Just know that I'll be thinking of you, praying for your good fortune._

_Love,_

_Hiyoko._

_'Something special' heh... _Eli thought wryly and ran her fingers through her messy bangs. _And you have no idea cute Hiyoko._

to be continued

* * *

_You can go read 'Twig' chapter three :)_


	15. Chapter 15

_Sorry for the double alert_...

* * *

**Freckles**  
**chapter 15**

"Did you see that ?" Luffy was showing off his freshly printed wanted poster to his amazed crew. "50 millions beli !"

"50 millions and ONE beli." Eli pointed out. "Don't you think that's an odd number ?"

Luffy turned the poster around to examine it thoughtfully. "No..."

Ace smiled looking at the said poster, his smile turned into a smirk, which turned into a roaring laughter.

The crew watched questioningly the young laughing man convulsing on the ground, hitting the deck with his fist.

After about a minute seeing that he had calmed down Eli cleared her throat. "Ok... What now ?"

"Bro." Ace wiped the tears in the corner of his eyes and rested his hand on Luffy's shoulder. "They gave you 1 beli more than me !" And there he went for an other round of laughing fit.

Eli hit the palm of her hand with her fist remembering Ace's bounty. 50 millions beli ! The marines must have given Luffy 1 more beli since he was the captain, she thought.

"They did not !" Luffy screamed, diving at his brother frantically.

Usopp caught the flying poster. "Look ! I'm on the picture too !" he boasted pointing a corner of the picture.

"TAKE THAT BACK !"

Eli leaned forward and narrowed her eyes to study the picture, and there he was, a small Usopp. Well more the back of his head than actually him but that was enough to annoy Sanji.

"Never hahaha !"

"It's just a picture of your back..." the cook pouted chewing his cigarette.

"GOMU GOMU NOOOO-"

"Don't you get it ?!" Nami yelled bewildered hitting harshly the two wrestling brothers on their heads. "Now marines and bounty hunters are going to hunt us down !" She sighed holding her forehead.

But the rest of the crew didn't seem to care as they started jumping up and down happily on the deck. Now their captain was wanted, his bounty was the highest in East Blue, and with Ace's the Strawhats value was over 100 millions beli and for new pirates that was quite an achievement.

* * *

"Oi ! There's a marine ship coming at us." Zoro informed impassively.

The crew looked at the said ship, it was small and rather worn out, and definitely coming toward the Merry.

"I'm here to arrest you Strawhat !" a marine officer yelled pointing a threatening finger at Luffy. He was tanned, had pink hair, wore a stripped suit, and had knuckle dusters on both his hands. "Let's go men !" he ordered his small crew.

The marines stormed the Merry with a halfhearted war cry, and as soon as they set a foot on the pirate ship they were 'welcomed' by Luffy and Zoro.

Sanji sneered looking at pink haired marine. "You came back for the second course ?" he said before sending him flying with a powerful kick.

Eli turned toward Ace. "Old friends of yours ?" She hopped backwards to avoid a flying marine.

Ace nodded. "We met at the Baratie."

About a minute later the marines dove in the sea and swam away for their lives, leaving their ship behind.

* * *

"What are you doing Eli ?" Usopp asked watching the girl jumping on the marine ship.

She turned around with a smirk. "Pirating duh !"

Since Nami decided to leave all of loot from the marines for the villagers of Cocoyashi, Eli was pretty much penniless, and this might be a good opportunity to get some money.

Sanji and Ace followed the girl on the marine ship. The cook went to the kitchen, while Ace and Eli investigated the rest of the ship.

"Haha" Eli beamed finding the captain's quarters. Searching the room meticulously from top to bottom, she managed to gather 88.016 beli. That wasn't much, but she was still highly proud. "Look Freckles..." she trailed off seeing the young man sleeping on the floor.

Feeling all thiefy today, she stole his hat and walked happily to the kitchen. "Found anything Sanji ?"

"Cheap wine, and strange living organisms." he replied examining the refrigerator.

Eli joined him and looked at a plate containing a strange green hairy dish. "Ew !" She winced stepping away.

"Looks like Zoro's hair." Sanji jested closing the refrigerator. "What about you Elisabeth ?"

"88.016 beli !" she said proudly swelling out her chest with her hands on her hips.

"That's wonderful !" He clasped his hands and gave her his famous loving eyes. "By the way you look absolutely stunning with this hat."

"Don't I ?" she smirked walking back to the Merry. "I think it likes me better than his previous owner."

Sanji jumped on the railing and offered his hand for her to get on the ship. "It suits you way better !" he complimented, his cigarette producing heart shaped smoke.

"Knew it !" She grinned.

* * *

Eli was sitting against the railing, trying to write a letter to Hiyoko. Trying, that was the word but something was bothering her, and since she couldn't figure out what it was she couldn't focus on her letter.

Looking around for some answer, she watched the rest of the crew and their daily routines. Nami was sunbathing while reading the newspaper. Usopp was carefully preparing some ammo. Luffy was on the Merry's figurehead doing absolutely nothing. Zoro was on the upper deck doing his usual inhuman training. And Sanji was guarding Nami's tangerine trees, that the crew had received from Nojiko.

Something was missing in the picture.

Hearing the girl growl Usopp turned to her. "Hey how come Ace hasn't claimed his hat back yet ?"

Eli blinked rapidly her jaw slowly dropping to the ground.

Usopp cocked an eyebrow. "What ?"

* * *

An hour later, the crew finally approached the marine ship. Ace was on its deck, his arms crossed taping rapidly his bicep.

The crew was having a laughing fit looking at the fuming young man.

Seeing his angry stare on her, Eli hid behind the mast of the Merry. "Just so you know I am the one who found out you were missing." she fended shakily.

He jumped on the deck and walked slowly toward her, his dark eyes piercing her soul.

"And it's your fault after all... I mean, YOU fell asleep right ?" She ran to the bow of the ship.

Their little hide and seek game made the crew laugh even more, which wasn't really helping the poor girl. She ran from one side of the ship to the other, but Ace wasn't giving up. Damn you stupid sea, she cursed examining her thin fleeing options.

"NOW !" Ace shouted.

She felt something wrapping around her, looking at her chest she saw Luffy's rubber arm twined around her thin body.

Her eyes widened seeing Ace slowly drawing near.

"LUFFY YOU TRAITOR ! LET ME GOOO !" she yelled frantically.

"Nope." He grinned.

"Luffy... Have you ever wondered if Eli was ticklish ?" Ace sneered.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"

* * *

"Ahoy island !" Zoro yelled pointing a dark shape in the distance. Standing up Eli wondered if the swordsman was actually the only one paying attention to the ship course.

"Must be Loguetown." Nami informed, she got up and rested her hands on the railing. "Loguetown... The city of the beginning and the end. The city where the legendary Gold Roger, the Pirate King, was born and executed..."

The crew stared the island with a feeling of awe, the only sound heard was the waves softly rustling against the ship.

In the corner of her eye Eli noticed that Ace was facing the other way. She looked at him over her shoulder, he was looking at the sky, his dark eyes lost in the distance. When she nudged his shoulder questioningly, he turned his head to face her locking his eyes in hers.

"Hey..." she said softly trying to read the look on his face. "What's up Freckles ?"

He sighed giving her half a smile. "Nothing."

* * *

"I want to see the execution place !" Luffy declared his arms crossed resolutely.

"I need to go to the shipyard." Ace sighed fixing his hat.

"I'll check the grocery stores." Sanji lit a cigarette. "We have a long trip ahead of us."

"I'll go buy some tools !" Usopp declared with his hands on his hips.

"I have to buy new katanas." Zoro said bringing his hand to his chin. "But I don't have money."

Nami sneered. "I can lend you some. Only 300% interest." She winked mischievously.

300 % ! You're a crazy woman ! Eli though looking incredulously at the money lover.

Zorro frowned angrily. "300% ! You greedy wench."

Nami shrugged walking away. "Well do as you want..."

"Wait ! I guess I have no other choice..."

Nami swung around smirking victoriously. She gave the poor swordsman 100.000 beli, and grabbed the Eli's arm. "Eli come with me, we'll buy some clothes !"

* * *

Eli looked at the girl questioningly, she never had girl friend before, and she didn't really know what to expect. She could handle the boys pretty easily, they were all so basic, simple-minded, careless, and fairly easy to understand. But girls...

Girls are way more tricky and especially this one, Eli thought sighing deeply.

Nami dragged the girl into a high class store. She was frenzied, in less than a minute she picked a dozen of pieces of clothing to try on, and entered the fitting room to try them on.

Each time she got out wearing a different, more outrageous, outfit the salesman complimented the girl. "Very beautiful !" "Very classy miss." "So sexy !"

Nami frowned at Eli who was sitting boringly on a chair. Eli blinked, did she have to say something too ? "You're very pretty Nami." She smiled.

"Try this on Eli !" Nami ordered giving the girl a dress. "I'm sure it suits you !"

It was a dark tight dress with a hip high slit on one side. "I'm not sure Nami... I'm pretty satisfied with the clothes I already own..." Eli trailed off looking curiously at the dress as if it was the first she had ever seen.

"Oh come on, just try it on." Nami insisted pushing the girl in the fitting room.

"Aye aye." Eli sighed.

When she got out Nami examined at her from hair to toe. "Wow.. You actually look like a girl !" she said mischievously sticking the tip of her tongue out.

Eli's face darkened, she clenched furiously her fist, and as she was about to get wild Nami laughed loudly patting the girl's back. "I'm just kidding Eli, you look really nice."

Eli made a series of growling sounds taking the, stupid stupid, dress off.

"So you will buy all these right ?" the salesman inquired clasping his hands.

Nami grinned. "No, we wont buy anything." She walked to the door pulling Eli. "We want something more casual."

* * *

Since she wasn't used to this kind of frantic shopping after almost an hour Eli was fed up to the teeth. Nami had managed to make her buy a thick coat, three pairs of shoes, a dozen of t-shirts, seven different shorts and two swimsuits, even though the girl couldn't swim. She was now pulling the poor thing in a lingerie store.

Eli didn't complain this time, Nami wouldn't dare to pick underwear for her... Would she ?

She picked up a dozen of items and as she was about to pay for them Nami inspected her picks. "You didn't take any bra ?" she asked searching through the stack of panties.

"Nope. I don't wear bra."

Nami gawked as if she just had told her that Luffy had become vegetarian. After a few seconds, she managed to get over the shock. "You could try push-ups !" she said cheerily.

Eli turned slowly her head toward her, dark flames in her eyes. "I could kill you Nami..."

"Haha you're so funny Eli, come on just try this one on." She held out a pink padded bra.

At this moment Eli wished she had Ace's devil powers, so she could burn the lacy bastard with her eyes. "Ok that's it I'm leaving Nami !" She snatched her shopping bag from the chuckling saleswoman, and stormed out of the store slamming the door behind her.

* * *

Walking down the street, Eli tried to calm down picturing all sorts of torture she could inflict to the evil redhead. Somehow, that wasn't helping.

She won't be the boss of me ! Eli thought determinedly.

"Hey sexy !"

Eli swung around like a shot fearing that Nami had followed her. A sigh of relief escaped her mouth seeing that wasn't the case.

"We're talking to you cutie." Three smirking badass men walked to Eli, and quickly surrounded her.

Must be a prank, Eli thought looking around quickly to see if she could find one of her crewmates.

"What's your name cutie ?" one of the men asked with lust in his eyes.

"Eli..."

He gave a low whistle looking at her from hair to toe. "Leggy leggy leggy Eli..." He sneered.

As one of the men grabbed her ass she kicked theirs light speed, sending them flying in different directions.

Eli smiled walking bouncily toward the docks. Hehe they called me sexy.

to be continued

* * *

_I actually loled at my fic leaving Ace behind. Poor poor Ace... (mwahahaha)_

_Just so you know Eli doesn't always look like a boy. But sometimes people get mistaken, it often depends on her outfit. Hiyoko, for example, saw her with Sanji's vest, and the fact that they met at night didn't help._

_Oh and about the bounty, Art-sama and I had a short discussion about it, and we concluded that since Ace was already wanted, Luffy should be considered as a bigger threat for the marines._

_6 reviews again ! I might get it tattooed (or maybe I should wait to see if I can get more).  
OH NO 7 reviews !! Damn I love you so much I might cry._

_Thank you thank you my dear reviewers._

See **Shibo26 **and **gaaralover100**, not EVERYONE thinks she's a dude, ok those 3 badasses might not be the more honorable bunch, but still !  
I'm glad you love my fic so much **ThexWhitexPhoenix **:D  
Well Eli might already be attractive to someone **Art-sama** huhuhu.  
I don't know what your talking about **iBeautifullyBroken **? Who is this secret admirer ? (mwahaha)  
Yup no bounty yet **SilentEchoXx**, thank you for loving my story.**  
Captain Riley**, I don't follow the original storyline simply to make something different. When Eli came into his life it changed his destiny :)


	16. Chapter 16

**Freckles**  
**chapter 16**

Walking back to the Merry Eli's attention was drawn to a familiar orange cowboy hat. Ace was siting near the entrance of the shipyard.

"What are you doing ?" she asked walking to him.

Ace looked up toward the girl, his eyes stopped halfway on the manifold shopping bags. "You had fun ?"

She sighed excessively remembering the gut-wrenching ordeal she had gone through. "I guess... Though my feet hurt like hell." She dropped her bags on the ground and let out a deep moan of exhaustion siting down next to him. "So what are you doing here ?" she asked slipping her feet out of her, now too tight, shoes.

He smirked as a boy walked up to to him. "It's ready sir !"

"Come on I'll show you Striker Twig !" Ace said cheerfully.

"Striker ? What's a 'Striker' ?" Eli picked up her, too many, bags and shoes quickly as Ace and the boy walked away without waiting for her.

He looked over his shoulder a grin plastered on his freckled face. "You'll see."

When they had reached the docks Ace left the girl to talk with a middle aged man, probably a shipwright. Waiting for him she felt the need to dip her sore feet in the sea, a low groan escaped her mouth as they soaked in the fresh water.

A few minutes later Ace crouched next to her. "Come on it's ready." She growled as he pulled her up. "Come on ! You'll LOVE it." he said with a wide grin.

Eli chuckled at the young man's childish behavior, what ever Striker was, he sure did look proud of it.

"So that's 'Striker'..." Eli said staring questioningly at a small yellow raft. She leaned forward to examine it closely. It was shaped like a half-crescent, and had a large and mysterious engine in the back. "Is it...safe ? I mean... I can't swim, you can't swim, if we fall in the middle of the sea we're pretty fraked up."

"It's safe." Ace nodded before jumping on board, he offered a hand to the girl, which she accepted.

She sat on the bow of the raft and tilted her head quizzically looking at the engine. "So how does this thing work ?"

"You'll see." He smirked. "Are you ready ?"

"Ready for what exactly ?" She frowned at him slightly annoyed by his playful attitude.

As she saw his feet ignite, the engine roared loudly. Her head snapped in the other direction when she felt the sudden acceleration of the raft.

* * *

Eli grinned blissfully enjoying the strong wind on her face. She was amazed at the speed of the raft. Must be the fastest in the world, she thought. Ever since she was a child, way before she had eaten her devil fruit, she adored speed, it made her feel so light and free.

"Can you go faster ?"

"WHAT ?" he yelled. Apparently he hadn't hear her because of the loud roaring of the engine.

"FASTER !" She sounded like a child having fun on a roller coaster.

Ace grinned. As more fire burst from his feet the raft sped up tremendously, Eli whooped euphorically clutching the side of the boat with her hand. She had never experienced such speed on the open sea, and it was mind-blowing.

After a minute, the raft decelerated. "Why did you stop ?" Eli asked, looking over her shoulder she saw that Ace had crouched behind her. "What are you-"

The young man rested his left hand on her shoulder. "I saw something on the back of your neck..." Pulling gently her hair aside his eyes fell on a small tattoo. A small black star. "I didn't know you had a tattoo... When did you get it ?" he asked gazing at the little star.

Oh... The girl had completely forgotten her tattoo, it was so small, so concealed and so painfully related to her previous life....

"A long time ago..."

A shiver ran through her body as a quick flicker of repressed memories appeared in her mind. She curled up into a tight ball, desperately wishing that it would stop the tremblings.

"Are you alright Eli ?" Ace tilted his head on the side to look at the girl's face worriedly.

She gazed in his eyes, his deep, dark, and worried eyes. You have the same eyes, she thought.

* * *

_"Are you alright Lizzy ?" a boy asked worriedly crouching next to a younger Eli lying on the grass bruises all over her skinny body._

_"Hehe I kicked their arses." She smirked proudly._

_The boy let out a sigh of relief running his fingers though his short raven hair, and got on his bike. "Come on I'll take you home." he said warmly looking over his shoulder._

_She grinned and hopped behind him wrapping her arms around his waist. Her long hair flew softly in the wind as he began to pedal._

_She closed her eyes and hugged him tightly. "Faster Etowaru !"_

* * *

"Oi Eli !" Ace shook the girl clamping her small shoulders.

She jerked away feeling tears building in her terrified eyes. She wanted to say something to reassure him but as the tears began to flow her throat tightened so hard she could barely breath.

Calm down ! Eli ordered herself digging her nails in the palm of her hands. Longing for pain to distract herself from the excruciating ache she felt in her chest, the girl smashed her fists repeatedly on the raft.

"ELI !" Ace walked toward the girl, he grabbed her arms and pressed firmly her shaking form against his bare chest.

"I'm... sorry Ace... I can't.. stop the tears... " she stammered with a choking throat.

He lifted gently her head. "It's alright Eli don't worry, I'm here..."

Don't look at me with those eyes... She rested her forehead against his chest to avoid his gaze. "It stupid really." She forced a smile pulling away, tears streaming from her eyes. "We were just kids... We never even kissed..." she trailed off incoherently trying to wipe away her tears but they kept on flowing from her green eyes. "Isn't it hilarious ?" She wept with convulsive gasps, clenching her fists against his chest.

Ace's grip on the girl's frail body tightened.

* * *

A few minutes later Eli managed to get hold of herself. She lay down on the raft and gazed at the clear blue sky above her, listening to the soft rustle of the waves gently rocking the small raft. Ace was silent too, she couldn't blame him, her hysterical crying fit must have been a shock for him.

Damn !

Her repressed memories had overwhelmed her like never before. Why ? Was it because of him, because they shared the same eyes ? It was almost four years ago, why does it hurt so much ? But somehow she knew why... Being with him she had let her guard down, she had let herself become vulnerable.

She sat up folding her legs, and looked at Ace. He was sitting against the mast, looking absently at his hat resting on his lap.

She cleared her throat startling the young man out of his thoughts. "I don't know what to say Freckles... I'm sorry." She gave him half a smile.

He stared worriedly at her puffy eyes, and opened his mouth to talk but no sound came out.

"I must have scared you there..." she trailed off with a sheepish laugh. "Let's go back to the Merry ok ?"

* * *

Seeing that the rest of the crew still hadn't return from Loguetown, Eli sighed deeply. Just when she really needed some distraction, she was stuck with Ace and his unbearable worried eyes. The girl was still haunted by images of her past, and because of them she felt dangerously exposed. She turned around to look at the young man, he was leaning against the railing his black eyes gazing into space.

Regret, sorrow, shame and countless other emotions blended in her mind, she wanted see his smile, she wanted him to forget this miserable side of her. Walking to him she felt her heart pounding faster, she yearned for his warm and comforting embrace but she restrained herself and gave his forehead a flick with her finger.

"Stop worrying !" she scolded. Seeing him frowning at her while rubbing his forehead she gave him a tender smile. Now that's more like you Ace...

She leaned against the railing next to him, and exhaled deeply. "You would have liked him you know... Everyone loved him." She ran her fingers through her hair remembering Etowaru's warm smile. "But no one loved him as much as me." She smiled resting her chin in the palm of her hands. "He died for me. He died so that I could live..." She turned around briskly and frowned staring at Ace. "So I don't have the right to be sad. Got it ?"

She had to live with her memories but she wasn't going to let them crush her anymore, or else Etowaru's sacrifice would have been meaningless. She had to remember the good things, and live on happily, for the both of them.

He stared deeply in her green eyes as if he was trying to read her mind. After a few seconds he sighed. "Got it Twig." He smiled softly.

* * *

Noticing that the sky had filled with dark clouds, Eli decided to go look for the crew, she insisted that Ace stayed on the Merry, right now they needed some time away from each other.

She walked aimlessly through the streets until she reached a large open space. The place was crowded with civilians and marines, as she followed the gaze of the crowd her eyes fell on the execution platform. Must be there that Gold Roger was executed, she thought. Seeing two figures on the top of the platform she narrowed her eyes.

"Zoro ! Sanji ! Usopp ! Nami ! Eli ! Ace !"

Eli froze at the sound of the familiar voice. Luffy was tied on the platform and a man beside him was holding a sword above his head.

"No..." she muttered.

Luffy laughed. "Sorry, but I don't think I'll survive this time."

Eli's heart was pounding so fast that all she could hear was the hammering sound of her blood echoing within her ears. She ran through the crowd and up the platform as fast as she could.

I'm coming Luffy !

She had almost reached the top when a bright light blinded her, she was rooted on the spot feeling pins and needles piercing throughout her whole body. A second later she was blown away in the air. The last thing she saw before hitting the ground was the execution platform burning.

* * *

When Eli woke up she was in her bed on the Merry, and her body was heavy and sore. She tried to remember what has happened but her memories were a bit fuzzy. She rolled her head wearily to the side. Ace and Luffy were asleep, theirs heads resting on her bed.

Not the best choice to watch over a sick person, she thought slightly amused.

Looking at Luffy she remembered... The crowd, the boy's execution, and the thunder striking the platform.

What star were you born under Luffy... Eli smiled heartily patting the boy's hair.

The girl inhaled deeply, and sat up using her arms for support.

"Would you stop drooling on my bed !" She hit them weakly on the head.

As the two brothers threw their heads up instantly she chuckled seeing their sleepy faces.

"Eli you're awake !" Luffy exclaimed a wide grin plastered on his beaming face. Eli's eyes followed the boy questioningly as he ran up the stairs. "I'll tell Sanji to prepare the meal !"

The girl's stomach emit a loud growl to the mention of food, she covered it with her hands to muffle the sound fruitlessly. A deep sigh escaped her mouth as she fell back on her bed lazily.

"How are you feeling ?" Ace asked sitting on her bed.

Eli raised herself on her elbows. "What are you doing on my bed ? It's my bed !"

He looked at her over his shoulder and cocked an eyebrow. "Pretty possessive of your bed I see."

Eli rolled on her stomach and grabbed tightly the four corners of the mattress with her hands and feet. "Of course ! It's MINE... My precious..." she pouted.

He laughed standing up. "Ok ok."

Eli followed him to the kitchen where the rest of the crew waited for them. Her green eyes sparkled like emeralds seeing that Sanji had prepared most of her favorite dishes, she licked her lips with delight sitting down.

During the meal the crew confirmed her that lightning had struck the platform just in time to save Luffy's life. Was it 'luck' like the boy seemed to think, or something else ? Anyway he was alive, and that was what mattered.

From the corner of her eye Eli noticed that Ace's head was dangerously falling down, she caught his hair right before his nose touched his plate.

"Wow nice reflexes !" Usopp praised.

"I'm kinda used to it." Eli pushed the plate away and gently laid Ace's head on the table.

She wondered how many meals she had saved for him in a similar fashion until now, and smiled looking at his sleepy freckled face.

to be continued

* * *

_I wrote the sad parts listening to Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood 5th opening non stop (you should try it while reading the flashback + hysterical fit !).  
It might have influenced me a bit...  
Anyway I hope you liked it, hopefully next chapter should be less depressing._

_Oh and if you want to see Etowaru, and his 'warm smile', go to my profile._

Come on **Shibo26**, you should be nicer with our poor Eli... Let's say 94.5% :)  
You were right **ThexWhitexPhoenix**, but like i told you the execution wasn't the main event.  
Thank you **Emma0707**, Eli wasn't so funny in this chapter, but that won't last !  
I actually never thought of Ace telling Eli about his origins... Damn you **Art-sama** ! Now I have to find a good occasion for it !


	17. Chapter 17

**Freckles**  
**chapter 17**

Lying on her bed, Eli was finishing her letter to Hiyoko when Nami entered the girls' bedroom. Raising her eyes from her letter Eli looked questioningly at the redhead standing in the middle on the room with her arms crossed. She saw her inspect the room with a frowning face.

For the sake of her privacy, Eli closed her book to hide the letter.  
"What's up Nami ?" She asked sitting up on her knees.

Nami's frown furrowed deeper.  
"What's up you ask Eli ? Take a look at the room ! Your stuff are all over the place. I can't even walk without stepping on one of your dirty panties !" She snarled pointing an accusative finger at the girl.

"I'm busy Nami ! I'll take care of it later." Eli ranted annoyedly.

Nami took an heavy step toward the girl.  
"I told you to take care of it three days ago !"

Eli's face darken at the redhead's aggressive behavior. She stood up, towering above the girl in a menacing manner.  
"I SAID I'll do it later !" she snarled through her gritted teeth.

"Like I'll believe you... LAZY ASS !"

"At least mine isn't FAT !" Eli sputtered scornfully.

Nami pulled the girl's hair furiously.  
"SKINNY BITCH !"

"BALLBREAKER HARPY !" Eli grabbed Nami shoulder, tearing the strap of her camisole.

Nami gasped, and glared at the sneering girl.  
"You riped my top !!!"

"You should be grateful, it made you look like a PORN STAR !"

"At least I'm not FLAT AS A BOARD !"

"Click"

Nothing calming about this clicking sound, yet the girls' fury instantly vaporised. Soon to be replaced by something greater, darker, and far more wicked.

Usopp, Luffy, Ace, and Sanji were spying Eli and Nami's fight from the stairs. Their faces grew dim seeing the girls' vicious eyes focused on them.

Usopp let out a frightened noise.  
"They're... coming..." he sputtered running out of the room.

"Wasn't such a good idea was it..." Ace trailed off. "Sanji, I think they're coming for you."

But Sanji didn't hear the warning, his loving eyes never leaving the two frenzied women through his treacherous camera.

The girls exchanged a knowingly glance, and without further ado Eli rushed forward, grabbed the banister, and flipped gracefully her legs forward landing on the pervy cook's back.

With a prolonged, gut-wrenched, shriek of pain, Sanji dropped the camera .

The girl wasn't really the sadistic type, but this once, his cry of pain send a shiver of delight through her spine. Nami stomped repeatedly on the device, until nothing but dust was left.

Once Eli hopped off the whinny young man's back Luffy grabbed him carelessly. Ace and the boy bowed apologetically walking backwards.

They sure did look scared. The girls burst out laughing when the door closed.

"You are really good Eli."

"Thanks, and sorry for the mess, I'll take care of it right now."

"I'll help you."

And that's how Nami and Eli's indefectible friendship started.

* * *

Sitting at the kitchen's table, the crew was watching Nami and Ace fighting as if it was a ping pong match.

"How can the entrance be a mountain ?!" Nami said angrily pointing a finger in the young man's shoulder.

"Chill out Nami !" Ace said grabbing her wrist. "Look at the map."

The navigator sighed annoyingly and leaned forward to examine the map carefully.  
"... Is that a canal ?"  
She looked at Ace questioningly.

The young man nodded.  
"Yup."

"Don't be stupid ! Even with a canal, there's no way a ship can climb a mountain !" Usopp said bewildered.

Taking a look at the map Sanji and Eli confirmed that, as mad as it sounded, there was indeed a canal going up the mountain. Eli smiled. Grand Line was really something else, even its entrance was an adventure.

"It's a Mysterious Mountain !" Luffy laughed.

Nami cleared her throat, imposing the silence in the room.  
"Maybe the stream of East Blue pushes the water up the canal." She said in an uncertain tone. "Anyway we should reach the mountain in two days, we'll see then."

* * *

Eli was in her bed, staring at the ceiling to try to clear her mind, but the girl wasn't even slightly tired. She sighed rolling on her side.  
"Hey Nami..." She whispered, hoping that the redhead was having an insomnia fit too, at least she could talk to someone.  
But unfortunately for her the girl was sound asleep.

Two more days... She thought.

Grand Line was getting closer and her future adventures obsessed the girl's imagination continuously. Everything was possible there, that was the place were all the most wonderful tales came from; Giants, cities of gold, dragons, mermaids, treasures... As excitement send a shiver through her body she started giggling.

Hearing Nami whine in her sleep, she buried herself under her sheets until the giggles faded.

I might as well get up.

She slipped out of her bed silently, and tiptoed out of the bedroom. Walking through the dark storage room the girl bumped in different objects. A barrel "Ouch", a wooden box "Gya !" a cannon "FRAK !", another barrel "COME ON !".  
Finally finding the door she let out a sigh of relief before turning around to glare at the evil obstacles.  
"I'll kick your asses you know I can..."  
Her glare furrowed as if she waited for them to reply.  
"Good !"

Walking outside and up to the lounge she rubbed her arms vigorously as the sharp cold of the night made her shake and shiver.

* * *

"... What are you doing here..." She asked slowly scanning the room.  
From left to right Ace, Luffy, and Sanji were in the room, eating, eating more, and smoking.

"Mellorine..."

Oh no...  
Eli looked at her outfit. Her night shirt was large but barely long enough to cover her panties. She slapped her forehead seeing Sanji executing his 'loving dance'.

"Mellorine mellorine..."

Should I go ALL the way back through the evil storage room TWICE or just stay like that ? Eli pondered. Luffy and Ace won't care after all...

"Mellorine mello-"

"Sanji ?"

"Yes Mellorine ?"

She walked to him and brought her lips to his ear.  
"I have no underwear..." She whispered teasingly.

* * *

A few minutes later Sanji finally unfroze, and the four of them decided to play cards.

"Let's play Pirate King !" Luffy said ecstatically.

Eli rolled her eyes.  
"... You always want to play Pirate King Luffy."  
And you always win, she though bitterly.

The worse thing was that he always won not because of his strategic skills, the boy was way to slow, but out of pure luck, or instinct, or fate... There's was no way to know what it was, but anyway it was getting on the long time losers' nerves.

"Do you know any other card game during which he won't eat the cards ?" Ace commented wryly.

The young man made a point, it was Pirate King or nothing.

After a few seconds, probably the time for his brain to process the jeer.  
"HEY !" Luffy yelled diving onto his brother.

"What's Pirate King ?" Sanji asked ignoring the two brothers' wrestle.

Since Luffy, Ace, and Eli had invented the game back in Fuschia it was natural for him to have no knowledge of it.

"First of all we need to be four, which is perfect. I guess we could also be six or eight, but it'll get really tricky. Then we have to be divided in two pairs, and-"

"I'll be your partner Elisabeth !" Sanji jerked up raising his hand up in the air.

"Sorry man, but she's mine."  
Ace smirked tying a knot out of his little brother's limbs.

"Yup we have a long time revenge to satisfy." She said.  
Her face darkened remembering the half-splitting grin on Luffy face after every game they had lost.  
"Anyway... Prior to the game, partners confer to create secret signals to indicate their pair what cards they need, any kind of signal is allowed as long as it is voiceless. If you talk you are excluded of the game. Also partners have to sit diagonal each other."

"This... is the One Piece." Eli said showing the joker. "The goal of the game is to have no card in your hand except for the One Piece."

"The dealer deals all of the cards to the players. Then during the first phase players look at their cards and discard any pairs they have. During phase two, and once every turn, partners can exchange a card, that's when the signals are used. If it is too obvious the other players can take a guess at one of the cards, except for the One Piece, if it's correct the trade is canceled, if they are wrong their trade is canceled in return. Then, beginning with the dealer, the player on his left offer his hand facedown. That person selects a card and adds it to his hand. If the selected card makes a pair with their original cards the pair is discarded, then he offers his hand to the person to their right and so on."

"Of course you don't HAVE to discard a pair. If you only have a pair and not the One Piece in your hand you can keep it, if not you loose..."

"The winner has to be called Pirate King during the next day, and him and the winner in second have to agree on a forfeit for the losers."

"Let's play ! Let's play !" Luffy said jumping up and down.

"There's one last rule ! when one of the players is incapacitated like... I don't know... let's say... fall asleep !"  
Eli stared heavily at Ace.  
"His cards are shuffled and dealt to the remaining players, and no more trade are allowed. Is that clear ?"

"Crystal clear Elisabeth !"

"Ok now team meeting !"

* * *

Eli sat across Sanji, Luffy on Eli's right, Ace across Luffy, and Sanji on Ace's right. As soon as the girl dealt the cards, the game started.

Surprisingly Eli had the One Piece in her hand. That happened once every hundred games.

Heh this is a good start, she thought.

Everyone got rid of their pairs, and Eli rested her foot on Ace's knee. Luffy's signals were as obvious as the nose on Usopp's face. He actually showed the numbers with his fingers. So Ace canceled their trade on the spot. Eli had to entrust the One Piece to Ace so that Luffy won't pick it up. She tapped the number of the card she needed on the young man's leg with her foot, while faking signals with her hands.

The game went on well for a while. Each time Sanji picked the One Piece from Ace, he warned her tapping her foot so she could follow the card and pick it right away. The cook tried to shuffle his hand, but Eli's eyesight was too fast.

Cheating ? No... The girl was merely using her 'natural' abilities, that's all.

She giggled inwardly, they actually had a chance to win this time.

But Sanji wasn't stupid. It didn't take him a long time to figure that Eli and Ace's obvious hand signals were fake. He took a pick under the table.  
Damn !

Eli had hardly ever seen this expression on the cook's face. Pure boiling wrath, and it was really, REALLY scary. She didn't have to be a genius to understand what caused it since the young man's burning eyes were focused on Ace.

The sight of the girl foot on Ace's leg and his hand curled up around it must have triggered it. And the freckled man's smirk wasn't helping calming down the love cook's dangerous anger.

Damn ! We had a chance... Eli though biting her bottom lip.

On impulse Eli rubbed her foot gently against Sanji's leg to prevent him from ruining her game.

"...Mello-"

"Sanji OUT !" Luffy yelled, excluding his own partner.

Eli slapped her forehead.  
That was frakingly stupid, she scolded herself.  
Now it was between Ace, Luffy and her, and she had absolutely chance of winning.

Stupid stupid...

* * *

"Huh was I asleep ?" Ace asked sluggishly. "Who won ?"

Eli was slumped on the table across the young man.  
"Luffy obviously... Hey Sanji ! Freckles is awake."

Sanji walked to the girl and handed her a plate.  
"Elisabeth... Do I really have to do it ?" He said pleadingly. "It is really embarrassing..."

Eli nodded nibbling on her cinnamon french-toast. She snapped her fingers, pointed him and Ace, and showed them the door with her thumb.

"What ?" Ace asked stealing a toast from the girl's plate.

The cook sighed glaring at the young man.  
"Come on..."

* * *

Seeing Ace and Sanji walking in the room Eli high-fived Luffy. This was like a fantasy coming true, even better.

"What the hell ?" Usopp muttered looking at the two young men.

"They lost a game." Eli replied, delight in her voice.  
She rested her chin in the palms of her hands, her lips curled up into a blissful smirk.  
"And as you can see their forfeit was to exchange their clothes."

Too bad we broke the camera...

* * *

The next day the crew was on the deck waiting for the ship to reach Reverse Mountain. The tension was tangible. Well, except for Luffy. The straw hat boy was following Sanji everywhere demanding to be fed.

How can he be hungry ? Eli wondered feeling the butterflies in her stomach multiplying as the minutes passed.

Perceiving the ship accelerate she stood up briskly to see what was going on.  
"Guys, I think you should come check this out...."

Luffy and Usopp's jaws dropped seeing that the ship was heading right into Red Line.

"Oh frak..." Eli muttered.

As the ship got closer, they could spot the 'mysterious' canal.

"To starboard !" Nami yelled at Sanji, Ace, and Usopp who were trying to steer the rudder.  
But the stream was so strong that the whip-staff broke in their hands.

Luffy inflated himself just in time to bounce the ship away from the cliff.

Eli's eyes widened seeing it brushing the canal's door in slow motion.

That was close, she thought letting a deep sigh of relief escape her mouth.

The pirates watched in amazement as their ship was shot up the canal at a tremendous speed. When they reached the top of the mountain it was hurled in the air for a few seconds.

A few seconds of divine ecstasy.

"We're FLYING !!" Eli and Luffy yelled euphorically.

Going down now, the Merry was even faster than before. With this emotional roller-coaster adrenaline kept rushing in the girl's veins. She could feel her pulse throughout her entire body and that felt frakingly good.

"Congratulation little brother."  
Ace was behind the boy smiling.

Luffy looked over his shoulder.  
"Ace ! We're going to Grand Line !"

Impulsively Eli jumped on Ace's back ecstatically and shouted : "LET'S GO !" shooting an arm in the air.

to be continued

* * *

_Eli can be such a tease... (poor Sanji)_

_It's is the fic's 1 month birthday :)_  
_Happy birthday ! Woo !_  
_*puts her hands in the air and drinks lychee like she just doesn't care*_  
_I'm having more fun writing it than one month ago, and my dear readers you are part of this happiness._  
_Thank you for visiting, hitting, following, favoriting, and of course reviewing._

Really **Shibo26 **? And yet I thought we was only saving the integrity of his food... She's my hero ; o ;  
I try to update every two days **ThexWhitexPhoenix **:)  
Hi there **hi there** ! Etowaru's name doesn't come from Edward Elric, nor FMA. Try again ! huhuhu...  
Here's more **Emma0707**, and I LOVE Ace too :3 (obviously)  
Thank you **Tropicall **! And also thank you for your advices, I'll try applying them (already starting to). About the lovey-dovey scenes you'll have to be a bit patient those things take time :)


	18. Chapter 18

**Freckles**  
**chapter 18**

"Buuuuuh"

"Did you hear that ?" Zoro asked cocking an eyebrow. Yeah, he liked doing that a lot.

"Must be the wind," Nami said.

"Who cares !" Eli was still on Ace's back, a large grin plastered on her face.

"Buuuuuh"

"Nami ! There's a mountain blocking our way," Sanji shouted.

"A mountain ?" Nami looked at the cook in disbelief. "That's impossible !"

"I think..." Ace said.

"Buuuuuh"

"What do you think Freckles ?" Eli asked tilting her head to the side to look at him.

Usopp adjusted his goggles. "It's not a mountain," he said, "IT'S A GIANT WHALE !!!"

"That ! That's what I thought," Ace said to a gaping Eli.

* * *

Of course, Luffy wanted to fight the colossus, and of course this caused Nami to jolt him on the head.

Usopp was holding tight on the mast, mumbling things about being too young to die, with fear in his eyes. While Zoro, Sanji, and Ace were fruitlessly gripping the broken whipstaff to make it move.

"MOVE IT !" Eli yelled.

"Trying to !" they replied through gritted teeth.

The girl glanced over her shoulder, her eyes widened seeing the whale was now only few meters away.

"Oh... frak..."

Their journey was about to end before it had barely started. Sad. Eli was still glad. She had found wonderful friends, and she had to admit that from the moment she had met Luffy and Ace, life has been really good.

At least I'm not gonna die a vir-

"KABOOM"

Someone had fired the front cannon right into the whale. And the blast was so powerful that the Merry was, at long last, slowing down.

Luffy walked out on the anchor deck, smiling.

"Oh God... This boy is a genius," Eli muttered incredulously.

The ship had slowed down, but was still heading toward the whale.

"CRICK"

The Merry's figurehead snapped hitting the whale.

"MY SPECIAL SEAT !!!" Luffy shrieked.

* * *

Seeing that the whale had still not moved, the men of the crew started to row the ship frenetically through the small gap between the beast and the cliff. Hoping that it'll keep on ignoring the small ship.

Thanks to the large amount of adrenaline flowing in their veins, they managed to row the ship past the small opening in a few seconds.

The Merry was now sailing along the whale's side, right under its eye, but still unnoticed.

Luffy glared at the whale's orb with raging eyes.

Oh no Luffy... Don't you dare... Eli pleaded looking at the angry boy.

But he did.

Luffy hurled his rubber fist in the animal's huge eye.  
"You destroyed my special seat !!"

"Oh God... This boy is a moron," Eli muttered incredulously.

Luffy definitely got the whale's attention since its gigantic eye was now looking at the small ship.

"Come and fight me you stupid fish !" the boy taunted clenching his fists angrily.

Eli ran to Luffy and tied his rubbery limbs, light-speed, to the railing to prevent him from endangering the crew's lives any more.

"Shut up Luffy !" Ace slapped his brother's head.

But it was too late. The whale opened its huge mouth, creating a mighty current that sucked the ship in.

The sudden acceleration of the ship threw Eli overboard.

The girl was slowly falling backwards, aware that below her was the ocean, her deadly enemy. Eli saw the horror in Ace eyes', as the ship was dashing away. She threw desperately her hands out toward him.

"ACE !"

What happened next was a bit confusing.

He jumped ? Did he _actually _jump ?

Ace _did _jump, or more accurately, propelled himself like a rocket, fire bursting from his feet. He grabbed Eli, and landed on one of the whale's teeth. Then the young man jumped on the monster's cheek, right before it closed his mouth.

* * *

The pair slumped on the whale's head, panting heavily. Climbing the giant and slippery head had been quite an ordeal by itself.

After a few minutes to catch their breaths, Ace and Eli sat up facing each other.

"Luffy you idiot..." Eli muttered.

Ace nodded.  
"Why did he do that for ?"

"He's YOUR brother you should know. He never think before acting !"

Ace sighed deeply fixing his hat.

Eli looked at him silently remembering her salvaging.

He jumped... Eli thought. He jumped to save me.  
Well it's only natural that he saved you ! You're his crewmate, he wasn't going to let you die there, logical Eli pointed out.  
I know that ! she retorted. It was pretty amazing though...

"Thanks for saving me," she said giving him a warm smile.

He smiled back.  
"No biggie Twig."

Eli cleared her throat, not wanting to dwell on the subject.  
"So... What do we do now ?"

"What is that ?" Ace said pointing a small metal thingy on the top of the whale's head.

Looking over her shoulder Eli's eyes fell on the mysterious object.

"A hatch... on a whale... What the..." she stammered in disbelief.

Ace stood up and walked to the said hatch to examine it. Eli joined him. Indeed, it was a hatch, a hatch on a whale.

The young man opened it.

"Shall we ?" he said sounding rather amused.

* * *

"I am dreaming right ?" Eli asked looking around in disbelief.

How could they be in a corridor, if they had just gone through a hatch on a whale's head. Wait, that was impossible to begin with.

Ace pinched her arm.

"OW ! Why did you do that ?" she asked rubbing her arm.

"You're not dreaming Twig," Ace said looking around. "We came through a hatch, on a whale's head, and now there's a corridor."

As he started walking, she followed him.

"Hey how did you know it was a whale ?" Eli asked.

"Saw it when I came the first time," he said. "It wasn't blocking the way then."

"Is it guarding the entrance ?"

"Nope." Ace shook his head. "The overseer of the Twin Capes Lighthouse told us it's waiting for friends."

The young man told Eli the story of the whale.

Its name was Laboon. It originally came from West Blue Many years ago with a group of pirates. But they knew that the journey ahead of them was going to be dangerous, too dangerous for the little whale Laboon was at that time. So they decided to leave it here and they asked the overseer to take care of it. They told him that they would travel around the world and come back here for Laboon. It was 50 years ago, and Laboon was still waiting.

"This is so sad !" Eli said with watery eyes.

That did not explain why the insides of the animal were so human friendly though.

Lost in her thoughts, Eli didn't notice that Ace had stopped walking, and bumped into the young man's back.

"Oi !"

But he didn't reply, what he did though, was slowly falling forward. Eli winced when his body hit the floor with a thud.

She sighed and sat next to him.

* * *

Eli was inspecting the walls while Ace was asleep. Someone had built this corridor inside the whale, but why ? A recreational activity ? As stupid as it sounded it might be true, they were on Grand Line after all.

The girl was snapped out of her thoughts by a sudden earthquake. Or was it a _whale_quake ?

Eli whined as she was jerked from a wall to the other, as if she was a rag doll. The girl curled up into a tight ball to lessen the damages on the frail body.  
Oh she will be covered with bruises, she was sure of it.

When the quake had finally come to an end, they had arrived in a larger corridor with a waterway in the middle, though it didn't look like water, and since they were inside a whale, it probably wasn't.

"Hu ? Was I asleep ?" Ace was finally waking up.

How did he manage to stay asleep during the quake was a total mystery to Eli.

"You know, you should come up with an other question," she said. "If you're wondering, it's probably because you were."

Using her arms for support to picked herself up she felt a sharp pain in her left wrist.

Eli winced holding her aching wrist.

"Are you alright ?" Ace asked worriedly.

"Yea, I think I hurt my wrist, but it's ok."

He crouched next to the girl.  
"Let me see."

As he took her hand and moved it slowly, a screech escaped the girl's mouth.

"It's probably sprained."

Eli quickly took her hand back, glaring at the young man.  
"Thanks for the diagnostic dumbass !" she snarled. "Anyway, let's go."

* * *

They were starting to walk when an other tremor occurred, pushing them forward.

"Not again." Eli pleaded trying to keep her balance.

She threw a glance at her partner, and almost gaped seeing him grin. The young man was actually having fun.  
How was that even possible?

But his smile was contagious, and soon Eli found herself enjoying her fall.

Drawing near a gate, they saw two unknown figures standing in their way. And there was no way they could decelerate.

"MOVE !" Ace yelled to warn the two strangers.

But they didn't and the pair crashed into them forcefully.

Once they got past the threshold, the floor under their feet disappeared. How lucky. And they were flung into the air.

Apparently they had gone through some exit since they could see the sky above them.  
And the sea below.

Frak...

Fortunately, the Merry was there too.

"SAVE US !" Eli cried to her crewmates.

"ELISABETH !"  
Sanji threw his vest and shoes away to dive into the sea straightaway.

"ACE ! ELI !" Luffy waved happily.

They smiled waving back, like two idiots, before entering the water.

* * *

"We are still inside the whale ?" Eli asked looking with amazement at her surroundings.

They were on the Merry, and after a second observation, the sea they were sailing on had a strange greenish hue. And the bright blue sky above their heads seemed a bit unreal, mainly because the birds and clouds were motionless.  
The whole scenery looked, somehow, fake.

"Yes, we're in its stomach to be more precise," Nami answered resting her hand on her hip.

"Which mean I am covered with..."

Usopp nodded.

"Ew !"

* * *

The two strangers were sitting on the ship's deck.

One of them was a man. He had light brown hair, wore a green suit, and a crown. He had the number 9 written on both his cheeks.

The other was a young, and very pretty woman, whence Sanji was crouched by her side, staring at her with flirty eyes.  
She wore a white and blue stripped tank top, and a light green coat. Her light blue hair were pulled into a high ponytail.

"So ? Who are you ?" Nami asked.

They both seemed a bit tense under the pirates' inquisitive stares. They clutched their bazookas tightly and started whispering to each other.

"As long as I am alive I'll protect this whale !"

"Oh ! It's the overseer I told you about," Ace informed Eli.

The man was standing on a platform before the very door Ace and Eli had gone through earlier.

The two strangers stood up briskly.  
"We are inside the whale..."  
And, without delay, they both fired a cannonball toward the whale's stomach with their bazookas.  
"You can't stop us any more !"

The overseer growled and jumped to intercept the cannonballs with his body. The explosion blasted the man away.

The two strangers laughed evilly.  
"It's worthless ! No matter what you do, this whale will soon feed our town !"

Luffy got behind them and hit the two hunters on the heads with a loud thud.

* * *

The name of the overseer was Crocus. He told the pirates about Laboon's story, and also explained them that it was bashing against Red Line in an attempt to get to the other side and rejoin his pirate comrades.

When Eli asked him about the corridors, Crocus told her that was once a doctor, and that he had built the passages in the whale's body in order to cure him from the inside.

Once outside Luffy threw the two hunters overboard.

"By the way, who are you ?" the boy asked leaning against the railing.

"It's none of you business !" they both yelled.

"Well Miss Wednesday, we should go now," the crowned man said to his partner.

"You're right Mr Nine," the blue haired girl replied.

"We'll see you soon you lousy pirates !" they said swimming away.

"Miss Wednesday and Mr Nine..." Eli crossed her arms.

"Sounds like fake names," Ace said.

"Sounds like COOL names !" the girl grinned. "Isn't it Mr Freckles ?"

"It sure is Miss Twig !"

* * *

After taking a needed shower, Eli went to the deck with her book. She wanted to write about Laboon's story. However she had forgotten about her wrist and found herself unable to hold a pen properly.  
But the girl was going to give up so easily, so she tried to write with her right hand.

She sure looked rather funny. Sticking her tongue out the corner of the mouth, while holding her pen like a child would. After a few minutes the result wasn't really satisfying, it kinda looked like Luffy's handwriting.

Eli sighed deeply and decided to give up her book for today. She leaned back against the railing and let the soft sound of the waves lulled her into sleep.

A scream woke Eli out of her nap rather brusquely.

She stood up to find Luffy rampaging on the top of Laboon's head.

"What the..." she muttered.  
Her eyes widened.  
"What the frak is Luffy doing with our mast ?"

"He's fighting with the whale I guess." Ace said.

She hadn't notice that the young man was sitting next to her.

Reading _her _book.

"What the frak are you doing with my book ?" she said flabbergasted at the young man's intrusion.

"Reading ?"

"Oi !" Eli snatched her book from the snooper. "No one touches my book without my permission !"

He smirked.  
"You drew me."

What ? Eli looked at the arrogant man before her with wide eyes.

"I drew EVERYONE !" She held her book tightly against her chest.

Ace stood up and and took a step toward the girl.

"But you drew me TWICE !" he said looking smugly at the girl's face.

"The second time it was your _back_, hardly counts !" she retorted right away.

"If you say so," he said with amusement in his voice.

She started walking away as she couldn't bear his self-satisfied look anymore.  
Just who does he think he is, she thought bitterly.

Hearing him laugh she whirled.  
"I'll make you pay for this Portgas !" she threatened pointing a finger to the young man's freckled face.

His smirk grew larger.  
"You're cute when you blush Twig."

to be continued

* * *

_I wondered... Should I name my chapters ?  
And if you think I should, how the hell do you name a chapter ?!_

XD **Shibo26  
ThexWhitexPhoenix **I saw an art of Sanji in Ace's clothes and he looked really good.  
Your favorite chapter **Tropicall **! Well now I just have to try my best to do better.  
You have to admit **Emma0707**, Sanji totally deserved it :)  
Making people laugh is the best compliment I could get, thank you **Art-sama**.


	19. Shooting Star

**Chapter 19  
****Shooting Star**

Ace and Usopp were repairing, the best they could, the Merry. They had patched up the figurehead, and were now working on the mast. Next to them, Eli was reading the newspaper, there was a small story about what had happen in Loguetown.

"Oi Luffy !" Eli called out. "They're calling you 'Straw hat Luffy' now."

"Hehehe..." Luffy took his hat and looked at it happily.

This sight brought a smile to her face, yet Eli thought that the marines didn't racked their brains for the boy's epithet. Her eyes falling on Ace's figure, the flames user's came back to her mind.

"Freckles, how come they called you 'Fire Fist' ?" she asked.

A pause, during which the young man gazed thoughtfully at Eli's face, before letting a sigh escape his mouth. "I helped them a bit..." Ace trailed off.

"How ?" Usopp asked, now observing his crewmate who seemed strangely uncomfortable.

Ace cleared his throat scratching the back of his head. "I used this attack a lot when I met them." He laughed sheepishly.

For a few seconds, Usopp and Eli stared at him speechlessly before looking at each other. Without saying a word, they stood up at the same time, took a few steps back, and faced each other.

"This is it ! You're done for Portgas D. Ace !" Eli said loudly, frowning and pointing her index at Usopp who was now wearing Ace's hat.

"Not quite yet !" Usopp sneered. He launched his fist forward. "FIRE FIST !"

"Oh nooo !" Eli yelled running away.

"Aaahh" Luffy joined the girl's act.

"FIRE FIST !"

They kept on running...

"Heeeeelp !"

... and Usopp kept chasing them around...

"FIRE FIIIST"

... yelling like a mad man.

"NOOOO"

The comedy show went on until they collapsed on the deck, their bodies convulsing from a powerful laughing fit.

Rolling her head to the side, Eli saw that Ace had fallen asleep. She concluded that imposing his epithet, the way he did, was probably a necessity if he didn't want to be named 'Narcoleptic Ace'.

Usopp slowly sat up. "I wonder what name they'll give me." The teenager crossed his arms over his chest while his eyes got lost in the distance. "Probably 'Brave Warrior Usopp'..."

"Yeah right..." Sarcasm showing through her tone of voice and face, Eli rolled her eyes. "More something like 'Hidden-behind-the-real-warriors Usopp'." She scoffed.

The long-nosed marksman frowned. "Let's hope they call you 'Not a Boy Eli' so that people don't get confused," he jested sticking his lips out. He looked like a perfect punching bag then.

Eli's face darkened as she stared harshly at the teenager. "Repeat that !" she said belligerently.

Upon hearing him chuckling stupidly, the girl clenched her fist and grabbed Usopp by his collar. Apparently the idiot began to reckon of the dangerous situation he had put himself in as his laughing face quickly morphed into dread as it got closer to Eli's furious one.

"They could call you 'Shooting Star Eli' !" Luffy said with a large smile.

_Heh ?_

* * *

_Etowaru sat next to Eli. The girl was sitting on the porch of her house, her arms wrapped around her legs and her head rested on her knees._

_"You father told me you ate his devil fruit."_

_Eli nodded timidly, and glanced at him. Was he mad too ?_

_"Why did you do it ?"_

_Wordlessly, Eli started at her knees._

_She didn't reply, as she couldn't tell him the reason. She couldn't tell him that she had eaten it for him. So many girls had a crush on Etowaru, and Eli knew she could never be the prettiest, nor the smartest girl. But she could be the strongest._

_Etowaru sighed deeply and gently patted her head._

_"You know you won't be able to swim anymore ?"_

_"But Towa... I'm so fast now !" Eli briskly stood up. "Just look !"_

_On the spot, Eli ran along the beach and within a few heartbeats, she could barely see Etowaru anymore. Her bare feet digging into the sand, she turned around and yelled his name, waving her arms cheerfully. When she saw him wave back, she dashed to him._

_"That's amazing Lizzie !" Etowaru praised enthusiastically._

_Eli blushed and laughed softly._

_"Now I'll call you Shooting Star..."_

* * *

_Shooting Star heh_, Eli thought bitterly. A dying star would have matched Etowaru's tragic fate.

For a moment, she stared into space, letting the memories slowly flutter in her mind. They were painful. Like an invisible hand, they curled around her heart and tightened their grip, making it hard for the girl to breathe...

"I think 'Emerald gust Eli' would suit you perfectly, don't you Elisabeth ?"

Eli blinked a few times as she saw Sanji staring at her as if he was expecting something from her.

"I get the 'Gust', but why 'Emerald' ?" Usopp asked.

Sanji got on one knee in front of Eli, clasped his hands tightly, his loving eyes gazing at the girls' orbs. "Because of her lovely green eyes of course !"

_Oh..._ Eli sighed deeply, and gave Sanji a flick on the forehead. "Ok 'Ero-cook Sanji' it is." This one was really easy to find.

Luffy scrambled to the girl and leaned forward. "Your eyes are green ?"

"... Luffy." Eli pushed the boy away as his face was a bit too close to hers. "We've been living together for four years, and you don't know what color my eyes are...?"

"No..." Luffy pouted his arms crossed. "Okay, tell me mine !"

Eli stared at the young captain in disbelief. "You're actually asking me-"

"Yes."

"...with your eyes wide open...?"

Hearing Nami shriek frantically, the pirates ran to their navigator, only to find her on the verge of an hysterical fit.

Apparently her compass was broken. And that wasn't good news since they were about to start a perilous journey. But soon Ace explained that normal compasses couldn't work on Grand Line. That was because of the islands' mighty magnetic fields. Instead navigators used a Log Pose.

Fortunately, Ace had kept his from his previous journey through Grand Line, and gave it to the grateful navigator. It looked like a watch, with a glass sphere containing a needle floating in its middle. Log Poses recorded the specific magnetic field of an island, and pointed to the next island. The time for the Log Pose to lock onto the magnetic waves varied from one island to another.

Now the pirates had to choose their first destination, and they had seven choices.

"Where did you go Ace ?" Nami asked.

"I started at Hula Island, sounded fun," Ace said smiling. "Wasn't though... We ended up waiting a month for the Log to lock, on a very religious island without any bar or any other kind of distraction."

"No women heh ? Bummer." Eli said in a mocking tone.

"So what other choices do we have ?" Usopp said looking at the map.

"Take us to Whiskey Peak please !"

The pirates looked in the direction of the pleading voice. The two hunters they had ditched earlier had came back. And were now begging, down on their knees before the very pirates they had insulted a few hours ago.

"It's our town and we need your help to get there." Mr. Nine said.

Nami smirked looking into the man's eyes. "Don't you think it's too easy, you tried to kill Laboon."

"It's not like we wanted to !" Miss Wednesday said clenching her fists. "The company we work for hold secrecy dearly, so we can't say anything, but please help us !"

Eli narrowed her eyes looking at the two suspicious hunters.

"Sounds fishy..." she whispered.

Ace and Zoro nodded.

"Ok, you can come with us," Luffy said.

The three wary crewmates sighed at their captain's carelessness.

* * *

Their first trip on Grand Line started under a favorable weather, which was always enjoyable. Eli was reading a book on the deck when she felt something cold falling on the top of her hand

_Rain ?_

The girl looked up and saw snowflakes falling from the sky. She blinked as they were multiplying by the second. The questioning look on her face quickly morphed into joy.

"SNOW !" The girl ran in the ship to change into warmer clothes.

Eli loved snow, she had discovered the white marvel in Fuschia, and from that moment she decided the she was a snow girl.

"How can they be so happy ?" Nami was in the lounge frowning at Usopp and Luffy, who were making snowmen, through the window.

"Come on Nami ! It's snowing !" Eli said happily to cheer the grumpy girl up.

But Nami huffed. Sometimes it was hard to believe that the redhead was actually younger than Eli.

"Kids..." she said rolling her eyes.

Seeing that the snow was pilling up really fast, Eli jumped on the deck, a large grin plastered on her face.

"SNOW FIGHT !" she yelled. "Usopp TAKE THAT !"

She launched a snowball at the boy, but since her aim was very bad it ended up, meters away, on Ace. She giggled looking at the young man emerging from his sleep with a snow ball melting on his face.

"Hey you were aiming at me ?" Usopp asked. "Pitiful creature... I'll show you the wrath of the best marksman in the world !" He blasted a snowball right in the middle of her still giggling face.

Eli wiped the snow off her, now, frowning face, and took a step back.

"Kyuu Kyuu nooooooooooo," she yelled mocking Luffy's attack, "MACHINE GUN !"

She launched dozens of balls per second in every direction. That wasn't the best she could do since she had strained her wrist, but it was still quite scary for her opponents.

"Mwahahaha !"

Luffy and Usopp quickly took cover behind a barrel.

"Fsshhh..."

Eli turned her head in the direction of the strange sound. Ace was burning, literally, and the snowballs that were coming in his way instantly melted.

"CHEATER !" Eli yelled, pointing an accusative finger at the young smirking man.

She had to prepare a massive attack if she wanted to win the war. But she had run out of snow and her three foes were now plotting their counter attack. "Huh oh..."

Luckily for Eli, they were interrupted by Nami.

"TURN 180 DEGREES" the navigator yelled.

"180 degrees ? You want us to go back ?" Usopp asked puzzled by the navigator's order.

"No," Nami shook her head," butt the Log pose is pointing in that direction !" she said nervously, looking at the Log Pose. "I don't understand, the waves were so calm..."

"Are you sure you're a navigator ?" Miss Wednesday sneered. "In Grand Line you can't trust the wind, the sky, the waves, you can't trust anything ! The Log Pose is the only thing you can rely on."

Nami began to jerk orders to each members of the crew when the wind changed.

The snow had stopped and now they could enjoy a nice spring breeze on their faces, until the waves grew stronger...

"Nami ! Fog !" Sanji yelled.

"And an iceberg a 7 o'clock."

"What's wrong with this sea ?" Nami was going crazy.

"We hit an iceberg !"

"The ship is leaking !"

"Usopp hurry up and fix it !"

"The wind is too strong !"

"OPEN THE SAIL !"

"The ship is leaking again !"

"DAMN !"

"The Log Pose has changed again !"

* * *

"Eli wake up."

Jerked out of her dreamless sleep, the girl instantly jumped off the couch she was lying onto a split second before. "WHAT ! ANOTHER LEAK !" she yelled.

Quickly regaining proper footing, Eli looked over her shoulder; green eyes still veiled by a heavy sleep haze, she dazedly watched Ace laughing. He was sitting on the edge of sofa.

"No, we've arrived at Whiskey Peak," he said.

Eli let out sigh of relief out of her furred mouth as she slumped down on the comfortable piece of furniture. With a loud yawn, the girl ran her fingers through her messy hair, trying to tame the wild mass as she did.

Rubbing her heavy eyelids vigorously, Eli cocked an eyebrow seeing that Ace was looking at her quite intensely, there was something strange and rather inquisitive in the way he stared at her. "What ?"

"Nothing..." Averting his dark gaze, Ace stood up. "So, are you coming ?"

Wordlessly, she nodded and, as she motioned to follow him, Eli tried to stand up using her arms to support her slightly numb body, a low wave of pain spreading from her arm as she did. The girl had forgotten about her injury, and so, now examining her wrist she reckoned that most of the swelling had disappeared but it was still a bit sore.

"Still hurts ?" Ace asked.

Her green gaze focused on her wrist Eli nodded slowly. "Just a bit."

Without a word or even a simple sound to warn her, Ace sat down next to Eli and gently took her wrist in his hand to warm it up.

A few time, Eli felt her mouth opening, and since no words seemed to be willing to come out of it, she pursed her lips while her eyes clung onto Ace's large hand curled around her thin wrist. It felt good, really good. In his warm embrace, the pain had completely vaporized replaced by a gentle heat fluttering in her flash and maybe in her chest...

Yet, despite the delicious sensation, the girl somehow felt... uncomfortable, quite highly at that. The two pirates were close, so close that Eli could feel the flame user's unnatural warmth gradually wrapping around her, her cheeks growing exponentially hotter with every breath she took. Moreover, it was only the both of them in the small lounge room that only seemed to be shrinking by the second. No sound were heard except for those of the increasing beating of her heart.

"...stop that," she found herself saying, releasing a small portion of tension along with her words.

Ace looked taken aback then. "What ? Why ?" he asked briskly.

Apparently the young man did not understand her reaction more than Eli did. Yet, regaining her forces in a new-found anger, she frowned and took her wrist back from his embrace.

"Stop womanizing me !" she said harshly, feeling her heart beating furiously inside of her chest.

A pause. Ace stared at Eli, and Eli _glared_ back at him. Something akin to fear was flickering in his eyes before vanishing, like washed away by the girl's ire.

"How could I ?" A smirk slithered on Ace's lips. "You're not even a woman yet Twig."

He should have know better, or at least, been prepared to what happened next. On the spot, Eli shot her leg in his face, throwing the young man to the other side of the room.

The glare she bore didn't leave Ace's face as Eli walked out of the room. With a scornfully huff, she slammed the door close.

He really should have known better...

to be continued

* * *

_Minor revisions~_


	20. Mr Freckles & Miss Twig

**Chapter 20  
Mr. Freckles & Miss Twig**

"WELCOME TO THE GRAND LINE, PIRATES !"

A huge crowd had gathered on the shore to welcome the crew as if they were superstars. The people of Whiskey Peak were, to say the least, really hospitable.

The pirates gawked at the waving crowd. They weren't prepared for such a cordial reception.

_Who welcomes pirates, anyway ?_ Eli wondered.

Looking at her crewmates, she saw the mistrust in Zoro, Nami, and Ace's eyes. On the other side, Luffy, Usopp and Sanji were waving back like three idiots.

As they disembarked, they were greeted by the mayor of the town, Igaram. He was tall, a bit taller than Eli, and a large man. He wore a dark blue suit and had very large, pale blond curls.

"Your hair is way too curly," Luffy said, awed at the man's hairstyle.

The mayor laughed loudly. "We have a lot of liquor and food," he said. "Please tell us about your journey. We want to host a party for you."

Nami, Eli, Zoro, and Ace looked suspiciously at the mayor. These people were way too nice.

"SURE !" Luffy, Usopp, and Sanji immediately and happily accepted the mayor's invitation.

"I think we'll have a mission tonight, Mr. Freckles," Eli whispered to Ace's ear.

He nodded knowingly.

* * *

The mayor guided the pirates to a tavern near the port. A band started playing as they entered the establishment, and soon the waiters served them a ton of food.

The crew sat down, and without further ado, started eating the offerings.

The food was delicious and the general atmosphere was friendly. The people of Whiskey Peak were watching with amazement as the crew stuffed their mouths like wild animals, and they encouraged the gluttons by serving them continuously.

After the dinner, Usopp climbed on a table and started telling his wonderful stories.

"I'll tell you how I defeated an army of mermen !"

It seemed that each time the long-nosed boy told his adventure in Arlong Park, he embellished the story a bit more.

Eli looked at Luffy and Ace who were gorging as if they hadn't eaten in days. The two bottomless pits didn't belie their reputation, and since they were having some kind of eating contest, Eli could only fear for the cook's sanity.

"Would you like to drink something, miss ?" a waiter asked Eli politely.

"Do you have lychee liqueur ?"

"No, but we have mango if you want."

Ace twitched. "Twig..."

Eli ignored the young man's warning and accepted the waiter's offer heartily.

"We have a mission here, Miss Twig," Ace whispered to the girl's ear. "Keep that in mind."

"I know that, Mr. Freckles, don't worry," she replied, patting the young man's shoulder with a large grin on her face.

* * *

A few hours later, the moon had risen up in the sky and the welcome party was still going on.

Sanji was enjoying his harem, flirting with about twenty young and pretty women at the same time.

Nami and Zoro were participating in a drinking contest.

As expected, most of Zoro's challengers were going down like ninepins. However, what caught Eli as extraordinary was that Nami could actually stand up to the swordsman. Eli watched in awe as the redhead gulped her tenth pint.

"This girl can drink !" Eli stated with rosy cheeks.

"And I know one who can't," Ace mumbled.

"What ?" Eli sputtered, looking at him with hazy eyes.

Ace sighed and sipped on his drink. The young man had given up Luffy's eating challenge. Unlike his younger sibling, he didn't have a rubbery stomach at his disposal, so the outcome of the match was predictable.

"You should sleep now," he suggested. "I'll wake you up later for our secret mission... Miss Twig," he whispered softly in her ear before taking away her bottle of liquor.

Without a word, Eli flopped on the table and soon fell asleep.

* * *

"Miss Twig."

Eli raised her head sluggishly and looked at her surroundings with half lidded eyes.

Aside from the sleeping pirate crew, the tavern was now completely empty. Ace and Zoro were the only two still awake.

Eli felt dizzy as she stood up a bit too fast. Apparently, the alcohol hadn't quite finished vanishing from her system yet.

Ace and Zoro sighed while looking at the tipsy girl.

"I'm alright, don't worry !" She smiled goofily, giving the thumbs-up.

As the two young men conferred about the current situation, Eli was trying to focus but found herself incapable of keeping a serious face.

She looked down at her outfit.

_Not very secret-agenty_, she thought.

"Be right back," she said and disappeared with a gust of wind. Ace and Zoro exchanged confused looks.

A few seconds later, she came back.

"Could you be a little more serious, Eli ?" Zoro rolled his eyes.

"Shh, it's Miss Twig !" she whispered with a finger on her lips.

"Did you actually go to the Merry just to put on boots ?" Ace asked, looking at her dark brown knee-length boots.

She huffed. "Don't be ridiculous, Mr. Freckles..." she said, frowning at the young man. "I also brought sunglasses !"

The young man laughed, and Zoro just ignored the girl's silly behavior and kept on giving Ace his information. Apparently, Whiskey Peak was a den for a secret organization of bounty hunters called Baroque Works.

Without any kind of warning, Eli swiped Ace's dagger.

"What are you doing ?" the young man asked as the girl was admiring the nice piece of weaponry.

"I'm a secret agent, Mr. Freckles; I need a weapon," she said, pointing the dagger shakily in his direction. "Now I need your sheath... and your belt."

"Eeeli..." Zoro growled.

"Told you to call me Miss Twig !"

"If I give you my belt, I lose my pants," Ace pointed out.

"... Okay," she said perkily.

Ace's eyes widened as she leaned forward and grabbed his buckle.

"Just kidding, Mr. Freckles." She stuck her tongue out and gave his dagger back. That wasn't the kind of weapon she needed.

_Maybe guns..._ Eli thought.

"Can we go now ?" Zoro said impatiently, rubbing his forehead. Apparently, the girl's behavior was starting to get on his nerves.

"We need to give you a codename first," Eli said. "What about... Mr. Caterpillar !"

"What ?" Zoro barked.

Ace took a guess. "Because... they have green hair ?"

Eli nodded.

Mr. Caterpillar's face darkened. "You're not going to call me Mr. Caterpillar..." he said grumpily.

Eli brought a hand to her chin and made a series of thinking sounds. After a few seconds, she snapped her fingers. "I know ! What about Mr. Green Bear ?"

Ace snickered. "Because they're green and grumpy !"

Eli nodded with a gleeful smile on her face.

"YOU'RE NOT CALLING ME MR. GREEN BEAR !" Zoro snarled, giving the girl a blood-lustful glare.

Eli sighed; nothing seemed to please the swordsman.

"You're never happy, Mr. Three-swords-is-way-cooler-than-two... and-one-is-for-sissies." She barely finished the sentence before she found herself enjoying a good, hard laugh that quickly brought tears to her eyes. Ace couldn't help but join in.

"Okay, that's it, I'm leaving," Zoro said angrily before leaving the laughing pair behind.

Ace wiped the tears out of the corners of his eyes as the laughter finally died out. "And what about Mr. Bushido ?"

Eli pondered the name for a few seconds and finally nodded.

"Let's go, Mr. Freckles ! Mr. Bushido is already gone !" She grabbed his wrist and the pair ran after Zoro. Ace smiled as they ran. She was such a simple girl sometimes….

* * *

The three pirates were sitting on top of a house, eavesdropping on the discussion between the mayor and his subordinates. They watched as the gathering crowd of hunters grew larger and larger.

"Oh God, they sure can eat and drink !" a large woman said. "We should have taken care of them at the port. At least then we could've saved some of our food." She glared accusingly at Mr. Nine and Miss Wednesday. They hadn't managed to kill Laboon; the town would soon be lacking food supplies due to their failure and the pirates' gluttony.

"Miss Monday ! You shouldn't underestimate those pirates," Igaram scolded. "Their total bounty is worth 100 million belies."

The hunters gasped. "100 million !!! For this crew ? But they look so stupid !"

"They might have been overrated…." Igaram said.

_Overrated ?_ Eli huffed. _Wait for us to get a bounty and you'll see if we're overrated._

"Anyway, time to get to work ! Go get their treasure and then tie them up !" he ordered.

Before the hunters could react, the pirates stood up sneering.

"BAROQUE WORKS !" Zoro yelled out. "We will be your challengers tonight !"

The hunters gaped. "How... how do you know our company's name ?" Igaram stammered.

"When I was a bounty hunter, your company had sent an agent to ask me to join your organization." Zoro sneered. "But I rejected it."

"Wah, Mr. Bushido is cool !" Eli whispered in Ace's ear.

"Well… since you know our secret, we will have to add three more gravestones to the cactus mountain." Igaram scowled. "KILL THEM !"

The hunters gawked as the two young men disappeared from the roof. Eli waved at them, a large grin plastered on her face.

"So ? Shall we begin ?"

Ace and Zoro were already amongst the crowd, ready to battle.

"Yeah ! Go kick their asses, boys !" Eli cheered from on top of the roof. "Woohoo !"

She watched the fight with amazement. The two pirates easily dodged every attack and due to the confusion, most of the hunters ended up firing at their own teammates.

Eli had yet to see Zoro fight, and she had to admit, he was awesome. The swordsman was swift and sharp. Not a single movement was wasted, and he always executed his attacks gracefully. The girl inwardly applauded Luffy's nose; he had picked up a wonderful swordsman.

Seeing the hunters falling one after the other made Eli laugh… until she heard footsteps behind her. She swung around to face two hunters pointing guns at her. The girl dodged the bullets easily.

"Come on guys, I'm not the real threat here!" she said, jumping away.

But they weren't going to just give up and run away. She wound up facing more enemies ready to shoot her down.

She squeaked and rushed behind her first attackers to use them as meat shields. Once they were down, she stole their guns and dashed away giggling, leaving the other hunters stunned with disbelief at her impossible speed.

* * *

"Oi, Mr. Freckles!" she yelled, spotting Ace fighting with a bunch of hunters. "Having fun ?"

He looked over his shoulder and smiled. "What about you, Miss Twig ?"

She strolled bouncily toward the young man.

Hearing some noise above her, Eli raised her head and spotted three hunters ready to fire at them from a roof, but her reaction was quick as lightning. She shot first, disarming the three men skillfully.

A low whistle escaped Ace's mouth. The girl was infamous for her terrible lack of aiming skills, but apparently the alcohol could do miracles to fix that.

Eli twirled the guns around her fingers, a slight smile curving the corners of her mouth.

"Do you know where Mr. Bushido is ?" she asked, looking around questioningly.

"Nope," Ace replied while fighting with about two dozen hunters. "Hold on, let me finish this first."

He ignited his fist and launched it toward his opponents. "FIRE FIST !"

His mighty attack instantly filled the small street with flames.

Eli rolled her eyes. "Show-off."

"This is nothing," he said scornfully.

Without any kind of warning, he grabbed Eli's waist, pulled her to his chest and made a fire-propelled jump into the air.

The girl looked down with wide eyes as the town got smaller and smaller... Eli never had a fear of heights, but maybe today was a good day to start one. She was petrified.

"He's over there!" the young man said, pointing a finger at the very small swordsman.

Eli couldn't care less where Mr. Bushido was anymore. Her heart was racing so fast she could feel its beat pounding in her ears. The jump had reached its climax, and they were now falling down… fast.

_Oh God..._

The girl gulped, her hair fluttering violently upward. She closed her eyes tightly as the ground started getting dangerously close….

"We've landed now, Miss Twig," Ace announced in a playfully mocking tone of voice.

Eli opened her eyes and quickly became aware of her surroundings, including the large smirk on Ace's face. They were on the roof of a house. Alive.

She exhaled a deep, shuddering breath she didn't know she was holding. The adrenaline finally starting to run out, the frightened girl let go of him and took a few trembling steps back. He was mocking her still, his arrogant smirk growing wider as he looked at her pitiful state.

After a few more seconds to clear her head of the thrill she had just experienced, Eli raised her head and gave the young man a vicious look.

"Don't ever do that again !" she said threateningly.

to be continued

* * *

**Betaed by Iwin Ulose.**

_Yup I have found a beta, and I'm really happy. Maybe a little too happy... and annoying :x_

_Anyway !__  
Hope you like the chapter now I have two very important questions._

_- Do you mind that I use the word "frak" ?  
- Do you mind the space before an exclamation / interrogation mark ?  
(It's a french thing, but if it bothers you I'll make an effort ! Though it's way better I mean, ! has its life on its own, how cool is that !)_

_Review time !_

**Shibo26** see ? My first named chapter !**  
ThexWhitexPhoenix**. His instincts maybe.  
I will **Emma0707**, thank you.  
Yes, Eli has good drawing skills **Art-sama**.  
Thank you **Tropicall**, but as I said earlier I found a beta (YAY). So you can just relax and focus on reading.  
Dear **frak** (I love your name btw) I come from bad-mouthing's motherland. I'm not afraid don't worry. I just like how 'frak' sounds, and it gives Eli something special. Now if you are not the only one against it, I'll remove them. (fyi, wiki 'frak')**  
iBeautifullyBroken**, the anime will come to an end in like, what, ten years ? Soooo I'm guessing I won't be able to write till then. Sorry ! But I'm really flattered :)  
Thank you **Regal Panther**.

_See you soon~_


	21. Canard à l'Orange

**Chapter 21  
Canard à l'Orange**

Ace and Eli soon found Zoro sitting comfortably on the edge of a roof. The young man was drinking a bottle of alcohol while observing the street below.

"Mr. Bushido !" Eli called out cheerfully.

Of course, the name earned her a heavy glare from the swordsman, or perhaps it was the chirpy tone of her voice.

"Yo," Ace greeted, sitting next to him.

The green-haired young man grunted some kind of greeting and handed him his bottle, but Eli intercepted it on the spot.

Eli thanked the swordsman before swallowing down the fiery liquid. The fire-jump she had just experienced had sobered her up so violently, she actually needed a drink to snap back. The burning sensation in her throat made her wince, yet she welcomed it and took another gulp. The jump might have been quite enjoyable if Ace had just _warned_ her beforehand. She glanced at him, taking a mental note to be more on her guard from now on. It seemed that mischief was one of his new characteristics. She handed him the bottle, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

"So, who are the two newcomers ?" Ace asked.

He was referring to a tall, dark-skinned man with sunglasses, and a blond woman who wore a short dress and boots and carried a bright green umbrella.  
They were talking to Miss Wednesday and Igarupoi.

Zoro shrugged. "Don't know."

"There are spies among us and the boss sent us here to eliminate them," the dark-skinned man said as they listened from the roof. "Those people know the boss's real identity, and that shouldn't be allowed."

Eli smirked observing them. She was right; boots and sunglasses were a must for a secret-agent look.

"The betrayers are the people who have secretly disappeared from Alabasta..." the woman specified.

_Interesting..._ Eli thought. _First secret agents,_ _a__nd now double agents... _This was getting more and more exciting.

The pirates watched as the mysterious duo approached Igarupoi and Miss Wednesday, stopping before them.

"I won't let you touch her !" Igarupoi yelled, shooting several cannonballs at the duo with his saxophone. The explosion created a large wall of smoke. He swung around to look at Miss Wednesday beside him. "Escape, NOW !!"

However, before the blue-haired girl could do anything, the umbrella woman kicked her in the head with an annoying, high-pitched laugh.

And the smoke was already dissipating.

"The betrayers are Igaram, the leader of the royal guard of Alabasta, and the princess of Alabasta, Neftari Vivi," the dark-skinned man stated sharply while showing a picture of Miss Wednesday. "And the boss ordered us to kill you both."

Eli's eyes widened. _A princess, too ?__!_ The situation was getting more and more interesting.

The man then put a finger in his nose, took out a booger and flicked it swiftly toward Igarupoi, or was it Igaram now? creating a mighty explosion.

"His boogers are really dangerous !" Zoro commented in awe.

"This is just... gross !" Eli winced.

Miss Wednesday, whose real name was apparently Vivi, turned and yelled at the top of her voice, "CARUE !" The trio on the rooftop watched in amazement as a large duck came running toward the princess for her to jump onto. They ran away closely followed by booger-man and umbrella-woman.

Igaram looked up at the three pirates. "Pirates ! Please, I beg you ! Protect the princess !!" the man pleaded. "We can pay, I promise ! Just please protect her and take her to Alabasta !"

Eli blinked in disbelief. The man had just tried to kill them and he was now begging them to help him.

"That's very interesting," a familiar female voice said. "How about 1 billion beli ?"

"Nami !" Eli exclaimed cheerily. The three crewmates jumped down to join their navigator.

_Damn ! I should have called her Miss Beli,_ Eli scolded herself.

"Hey, didn't you get drunk and fall asleep ?" Zoro asked.

Nami raised an eyebrow. "How could I sleep peacefully in a town that welcomes pirates ?" She turned to face Igaram. "So, will you pay us 1 billion beli to protect your precious princess ?" she asked, smirking.

"I.. I don't know... I don't have that sort of money !" the man said with hesitation. "But if you take her safely to Alabasta, I'm sure the king would pay you what you ask for."

"Perfect !" Nami said. "Now go, Zoro !" She pointed in the direction where the princess went.

"WHAT ?" Zoro yelled. "Do it yourself !"

Ace and Eli started laughing.

Nami crossed her arms and sneered at the swordsman. "Did you forget ? You still owe me, Zoro."

Zoro frowned. "When was that ? Stop making up stories."

"I lent you 100 000 beli in Loguetown so you could buy your swords, and you still owe me 200 000 beli of interest that you promised," Nami told him with fake sadness in her eyes. "Don't tell me you are the kind of person that can't keep one little promise, Zoro...."

_Oh__, using the 'promise'...__ she's playing dirty,_ Eli thought, amused.

Seeing he could never win this kind of fight against Nami, Zoro left to find the princess mumbling insults.

Ace and Eli laughed again at the girl's manipulative act. She was good, really good. They also silently decided to never borrow money from her even if their lives depended on it.

* * *

Assuming that Zoro could handle the task alone, Ace and Eli decided it was time for the rest of the crew to wake up. They walked to the tavern to do so. Apparently, Luffy had already left. Usopp and Sanji were the only ones still sleeping heavily.

"They are so cute," Eli said, seeing Sanji and Usopp lying side by side.

"My dear Elisabeth..." Sanji whispered in his sleep while taking Usopp's hand in his.

_Oh god !_ Eli slammed her hand on her mouth to keep her laughs inside.

The girl gently elbowed Ace's ribs, and crouched next to the love-cook.

"Sanjiiii," she whispered softly in his ear.

The young man mumbled unintelligible wooing sounds and brought Usopp's hand to his lips. Ace and Eli tried as much as they could to refrain from laughing out loud. Usopp opened his eyes, and quickly became aware of the situation he was in. His waking face instantly morphed into something between shock, fear, and soon rage.

As he started yelling at Sanji, Ace and Eli couldn't hold it anymore. The pair convulsed before the lovely hysterical couple.

* * *

After a few minutes, they managed to calm down and the four of them walked slowly to the ship, Sanji and Usopp averting each other's gazes. They stepped over several unconscious hunters on their way.

Ace and Eli told their two crewmates everything that had happened that night, about the trap, the hundred bounty hunters, the real identity of the mayor and Miss Wednesday, and now the pirates' money-fueled mission to take the princess safely to Alabasta.

Eli was surprised that Ace didn't mention the fire-jump. He could have taken this opportunity to ridicule her, yet he didn't. Maybe he was getting softer... but she wouldn't ! The girl remembered she had revenge to take for the time he had read her book, and with the fire-jump added in as well, her wrath would be merciless.

The girl was ecstatic as she reached the part about Princess Vivi. The blue-haired girl was a princess, for frak's sake ! You don't meet a secret agent princess everyday.  
_She must be every little girl's role model,_ Eli thought. She couldn't wait to hear the rest of her tale to write it down in her book.

"So, Miss Wednesday is a princess ?" Sanji asked, lighting a cigarette.

"Yup," Eli replied happily.

"I knew it," Sanji said with sparkling eyes. "From the moment I saw her, I knew she was out of the ordinary !" The young man started laughing goofily, his cigarette producing heart-shaped smoke. Eli wondered what perverted images were playing in his head, but she soon decided that it was probably best if she didn't know.

"Who's that... or WHAT'S that ?"

Usopp was pointing at a giant yellow duck sitting there on the Merry.

Eli leaned forward while narrowing her eyes to observe the creature.  
"I think... I think it was with the princess."

The duck nodded quickly.

"Oh, did you see that ? He nodded !" Eli babbled, kneeling in front of the animal. She wrapped her arms around the duck's soft, feathery neck and held it tight against her. "You're so cute, you know that ! Oh yes you are, yes you are..." She went on in a cutesy, babying voice.

"I think it's scared of you, Twig," Ace pointed out, looking at the pitiful animal who was trying to get away from the pushy girl.

"No he's not !" Eli let go of the duck and sat on her feet. "Give paw !" she ordered, holding out her hand to the duck.

The frightened animal ran to hide behind Sanji, leaving Eli behind. The girl pouted under Ace's 'I told you so' look.

Sanji slowly turned and observed the duck insistently.  
"Duck confit, fois gras, canard à l'orange..." the cook started to list.

The animal gulped. "WAAAAK !" it quacked loudly, running to the other side of the ship and soon pursued by blood-lusty Sanji and hug-lusty Eli.

Thankfully for the duck, the chase was soon interrupted by the rest of the crew's arrival.

"We have to leave !" Nami declared sharply. "Now !"

Preparing the ship's departure, Vivi told them the rest of the story. The princess and the royal guard captain Igaram had infiltrated Baroque Works and found out that their boss had planned to conquer their kingdom, Alabasta. Vivi also told them that the boss was Crocodile, one of the powerful Shichibukai. Luffy grinned at the mention of Mr. Zero's identity.

"A Shichibukai already, huh...? Should be fun."

Eli and Nami both looked at him suspiciously.

"Don't get any ideas yet, Luffy," Eli warned him.

Nami nodded in agreement. "Shichibukai are nothing but trouble. We want to avoid him at all costs."

After a few more moments of preparation, Eli realized something. "Where is Igaram ?" she asked, looking around questioningly.

The princess bit her bottom lip as tears threatened to flow from her eyes. Nami took the poor girl in her arms.

"Igaram is dead..." Nami said quietly, looking down sadly. "He tried to act as a decoy to cover our escape, but his ship exploded." She shook her head slowly. "That means Baroque Works is already after us...."

"We shouldn't linger here then," Ace said gravely.

The pirates left Whiskey Peak with the first light of the day peeking over the horizon to guide them.

* * *

"It's a good thing you got away from your pursuers," an unknown female voice said from behind them.

The crew quickly swung around to face a mysterious woman. She was in her mid twenties, tanned and had black straight hair. She wore a seductive dark purple cowboy outfit. The woman had a gentle smile on her face, yet she gave out a malicious aura that froze Eli on the spot.

"You... !" Vivi muttered darkly. "It was you... You killed Igaram !!" Her voice rose to a yell.

"Who is she, and who is her partner ?" Nami asked urgently, looking at the angry princess.

Vivi looked like she was afraid to answer those simple questions. She glanced nervously at the mysterious woman and then looked down, biting her bottom lip.  
"...Miss All Sunday," Vivi finally managed to say, looking at Nami, "and her partner is... Mr. Zero... the boss." She was almost trailing off as her head drooped slowly.

_Vivi.._. Eli looked at the princess with sympathetic eyes.

This meant that the mysterious woman was one of the officer agents who were trying to hunt Vivi and the pirates down. Why wasn't she attacking them ? And why was she so relaxed ? The woman was alone against eight pirates, yet she was casually sitting and smiling as if she were a friend.

_She's way too arrogant_, Eli thought, clenching her fists.

Vivi jerked her head toward the woman. "What do you want from me ?!" she yelled furiously.

Suddenly, Usopp and Sanji stealthily slipped behind the woman with guns in hand and threatened to shoot her down, but they were thrown away instantly by an unknown force.

"Those things are dangerous," Miss All Sunday said nonchalantly. "Don't point them at me."

The crew gawked. So the woman had the power of a devil fruit... but she wasn't the only one. Ace took a fighting stance, glaring at Miss All Sunday. Zoro joined him, hand resting threateningly on a sword hilt.

"Calm down, I'm not here to fight you." She smiled looking at the nervous pirates. "So you are the captain, Monkey D. Luffy, right ?"

Using her power, she picked up Luffy's hat and put it on her head.

"HEY ! Give me back my hat !!" the boy yelled angrily.

"You shouldn't get involved with this princess heedlessly," Miss All Sunday told him, smiling.

Eli frowned and, in a flash, she appeared behind the woman, took the precious straw hat, and gave it back to Luffy.  
"Don't touch our captain's hat !" she said sharply.

"My my !" Miss All Sunday laughed. She rested her chin in her hand. "I actually came here to help you," she began. "You see, your next destination is Little Garden. It is a very dangerous place. If you go there, you might not even be able to face Crocodile in Alabasta." The woman tossed some sort of hourglass to Vivi. "Use this Eternal Pose to avoid Little Garden."

Vivi looked up at the woman with disbelief. "Wh... Why are you doing this ?"

The pirates stared at the woman doubtfully.

_Must be a trap_, Eli thought. Why would the woman help the enemies otherwise... ?

"What a tricky woman," Ace said, folding his arms. "Why don't you tell us why you're helping us first ?"

"It's a trap," Zoro added, frowning.

Miss All Sunday smiled. "Decide on your own if it's a trap or not."

Eli gritted her teeth angrily. The woman was trying to manipulate them with her little mind game.

Without any kind of warning, Luffy took the Eternal Pose from Vivi's hands and smashed it.

"You don't get to decide our route !" he yelled.

Miss All Sunday chuckled. "That's a pity." She walked toward the railing. "If you are lucky enough, we shall meet again..." she said before jumping on a giant turtle riding alongside the Merry.

"Who would want to see _you_ again !" Luffy yelled, glaring at the woman who quickly disappeared in the morning fog.

_What a troublesome woman..._

to be continued

* * *

**Betaed by Iwin Ulose. **

_Three days for this one (busy week end). I hope you liked it :)_  
_Like always, thank you for reviewing !_

Nah **ThexWhitexPhoenix**, lychee is way to good to give up, and now she had discovered the delicious mango liqueur I think she's done for !  
Thank you **Shibo26 **I'm glad you think like me. ! and ? deserve their own space. Join my cause !  
Lazy **kaaaayyytee **! Thank you for not being too lazy too review though :)  
Eli is a mysterious girl **iBeautifullyBroken**, don't try your aiming skill with alcohol though might not work for everyone.  
It was mango this time **Art-sama **! Anyway I loved naming Zoro too I wonder why he didn't like Mr. Caterpillar though... I though it fitted perfectly :P


	22. Of Jungles and Ice Cream

**Chapter 22**  
**Of Jungles and Ice Cream**

"Sigh..."

Eli was lying on the deck of the Merry, lazily gazing at the fluffy clouds. Usopp was sitting next to her, preparing different kinds of ammo for his slingshot. Vivi, Nami, and Sanji were inside, probably worrying, mapping, and cooking/flirting. Sitting on his favorite seat, Luffy was looking out at the horizon while singing a song about meat. Eli could guess from his heavy panting that Zoro was training on the upper deck. She lazily turned her head to look at Ace taking a nap on the deck.

Overall, it was a slow day.

She sighed again, heavily. "This is so boring..."

"Don't you have anything to write in your book ?" Usopp asked, his eyes focused on his meticulous preparations.

"Nope..." Eli sat up. "Let me help you... Please."

After about fifteen minutes, they had already made enough ammo to take over the world and were now missing the ingredients for more. Eli leaned back on the mast with her hands behind her head.

"And now what ?"

As she looked at the still-sleeping Ace, an idea popped into her mind. After all, she had yet to take her revenge....

"We could always fish..." Usopp suggested, trailing off. "Eli... what's with the evil eyes ?"

"My dear Usopp, do you happen to have a marker, pretty please ?" she asked eagerly with a mischievous glint in her green eyes.

The boy searched through his large bag and handed a black marker to the girl.

"Here you go." He looked at her curiously. "What do you want to do with that ?"

* * *

Eli, Usopp and Luffy were trying to fish when...

"What the HELL ?!"

They covered their mouths to refrain themselves from laughing. Hearing heavy footsteps behind them, they swung around stiffly trying to keep straight faces.

Usopp pointed a shaky finger toward the freckled man. "Look, it's a man..."

Eli did the same. "... no, it's a cat !"

"NO !" the three pirates yelled in unison, raising their hands to their cheeks.

"It's... FLAME BOY !!!!"

Right after their little act, the three pranksters couldn't hold it anymore; they burst into laughter, rolling on the deck.

Ace was frowning at them with his arms crossed. He had cat whiskers drawn on his cheeks and 'FLAME BOY' written on his bare chest in a fancy writing.

"You've been practicing, I see..." Flame Boy sighed deeply.

The trio couldn't say a word; they were laughing so hard that they had to hold their stomachs because of the pain.

"Oi, what's going on here ?" Zoro asked. When his eyes fell on Ace, he ended up in the same state as his fellow crewmates.

"You look sooooo stupid, Ace !" Luffy managed to say before convulsing again.

"Got your revenge, Twig ?" Ace asked, rolling his eyes.

Eli wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. "Not quite yet, Flame Boy... VIVI, NAMI, SANJI ! COME OVER HERE !!"

* * *

A few days later, the Strawhat Pirates finally arrived at Little Garden. They slowly sailed up a large river to enter the island. On the shore was a thick jungle with huge tropical trees and plants.

"How come it has such a cute name ?" Sanji wondered. "It's not little at all."

As loud growls were heard coming from the jungle, Nami and Usopp began to freak out. "This is not a normal forest !"

Eli wondered if that's what Miss All Sunday meant by saying Little Garden was a very dangerous place.

On the contrary, Luffy was as excited as can be. "I smell adventure," he said with a wide grin on his face. For the boy, any new island smelled like adventure. In fact, any new thing did.

"You know what, Luffy... I think I smell it, too," Eli told him, grinning and high-fiving the boy.

"Sanji ! Prepare a pirates' lunch box !" he demanded cheerfully. What Luffy meant by pirates' lunch box mainly consisted of meat and... more meat. Naming it a 'Luffy lunch box' would actually have been more accurate.

Right after they docked, Sanji gave Luffy his pirate lunch box, and Vivi decided to join the boy for his adventurous expedition in the mysterious jungle. Eli was glad to see that the princess was trying to enjoy herself, and being with Luffy would sure help her do just that.

"Let's goooo !" Luffy yelled happily, throwing an arm in the air, before disappearing in the thick jungle with a smiling Vivi.

Zoro cracked his neck. "I'm bored. I think I will go and take a walk, too." He jumped off the ship and started walking toward the jungle.

"Wait, Zoro !" Sanji called out. "Can you hunt some animals, too ? There' no food left."

Zoro raised an eyebrow. "Well, since you can't do it, I guess I'll hunt something for you," he said coolly.

Sanji lit a cigarette before looking at the swordsman scornfully. "Are you saying that you can hunt bigger animals than me ?"

"Here they go..." Eli and Nami rolled their eyes.

Somehow, the two young men couldn't put up with each other. It was probably because of their huge egos. Eli looked at Ace who seemed to be amused by their rivalrous relationship. The girl wondered why wasn't he playing the same game. More mature maybe ? ...Nahh.

"Okay then... I'll challenge you, shitty swordsman !"

Zoro sneered. "Damn right !"

"Ace ! Eli ! Stay with us please !" Nami and Usopp begged while gripping the two pirates by their clothes. They were obviously scared by the strange jungle, and the loud animal screams that were heard from the distance didn't help easing their fears.

Being the reliable man he was, Ace agreed. For Eli, however, the perspective of waiting on the ship doing nothing, like she had done for the past five days, wasn't really appealing. Plus, Ace was more than enough to act as bodyguard for the two cowards.

"Sanji, wait !" she yelled before running back and forth between her room and the deck to pick her book up.

"What is it, my dear Elisabeth ?" Sanji asked, hearts in eyes.

"Can I come with you ?" Eli asked smiling.

"But of course !" he said heartily, opening his arms. "It will be a pleasure !"

Eli chuckled and waved the scaredy-cats goodbye. "Have fun !" She stuck the tip of her tongue out playfully.

* * *

The jungle was thick and its hot and humid climate was quite draining, but Eli was glad to spend some time with Sanji. Ever since they had joined the crew, they hardly had any chances to hang out alone like when they were working at the Baratie.

The pair was casually strolling through the jungle when...

"Hey, what was that ?" Eli asked, looking in the direction of rustling leaves. She saw a large shadow behind a bunch of trees.

Sanji stepped before her chivalrously, stretching his arms out in a protective stance. "Don't worry, Elisabeth; I'll protect you."

The girl wasn't really worrying, but she didn't contradict the young man as the sound of rustling leaves seemed to approach them rapidly.

"What the hell ?" Eli gawked.

The pair was facing a... dinosaur ? Yep, no mistake possible; it was really a dinosaur in the flesh. Eli had seen some pictures of the dreadful beasts in history books.

_But they're supposed to be extinct... _she thought.

The girl didn't have time to ponder the mystery of the encounter as the wild beast rushed toward them with its huge mouth wide open.

_What a toothy beast_, Eli thought, jumping away right before it snapped its mighty jaw on her.

Sanji scowled at the dino, jumped, and kicked it in the neck. "COLLIER SHOT !" The mighty kick must have crushed its windpipe since the beast crashed down on the spot.

Eli clapped her hands cheerily. "Nice." She smiled.

The girl sat on a nearby stump, searching through her bag until she produced her book and pen. She then started sketching the beast and its proud hunter.

"I can't believe it," Eli said happily. "It really is a dinosaur ! The Grand Line is really something else."

Sanji smiled at the girl's enthusiasm. "And even better than that, All Blue is somewhere in this sea. I'm sure of it."

Eli raised her head from her book and looked at the cook. Whenever he talked about his dream of All Blue, he had this childish glint in his eye. It was heartwarming.

"You're cute, Sanji," Eli said warmly.

It didn't even take a split second for the flirty side of the young man to get the upper hand. "Not as cute as you, Elisabeth chérie !" he said with heart-shaped eyes.

* * *

"I can't believe you !" Eli said, frowning at the young man. "I thought you were a reasonable man, Sanji !"

"You're the one who's being unreasonable, Elisabeth." Sanji said. "It breaks my heart to contradict you, but I can't let you go on."

The pair was next to the Merry, sitting on the huge dinosaur. They were having a heated argument while waiting for their crewmates to return.

Eli stood up, towering over the young man. "Listen ! Did you even try ?"

Sanji huffed looking away. "I don't have to. I know I'm right."

"You're so old-fashioned..." The girl rolled her eyes.

"I am not. It is called a _classic_."

"Vanilla ice cream is NOT a classic. It's boring and uncreative !"

"Mint and chocolate chips is not creative; it's the invention of a sick mind !"

"RAH ! I don't want to talk to you anymore !" Eli folded her arms angrily and turned her back on him before sitting back down. She scowled and mumbled unintelligible pouty sounds.

"Hey... What about cookie dough ?"

* * *

After about twenty long minutes of waiting, the two pirates started to worry about their crewmates.

"What if something happened to Nami or Vivi ?" Sanji said anxiously.

"Right... because our _four _other friends' safety doesn't matter since they don't have boobs, right ?" Eli said in a mocking tone.

Sanji stood up briskly. "My precious damoiselles need my help. I'll go find them !"

Eli rolled her eyes. Sometimes, the young man's chivalrous behavior was just annoying. She picked up her bag and quickly followed the love-cook through the jungle.

After a few minutes, they came face to face with a belligerent saber-toothed cat.

"Oh, he's so cute !" Eli exclaimed with sparkly eyes. "Kitty kitty kitty," she babbled, scratching the beast's chin.

Apparently, the animal didn't like to be petted since it instantly tried to bite off the girl's intrusive hand. Eli giggled easily evading the attack. "Look ! He wanna play !" she said happily.

"Be careful, Elisabeth !"

The chase went on for a couple of minutes until the tired animal finally gave up. Now that the beast was meek as a lamb, the pair mounted it. It was the best way to stroll through a jungle in their opinion.

Eli lay on the cat's fur. "So soft..." she whispered, rubbing her cheek on the animal's head while completely oblivious of the fear she inspired in the animal. The girl liked animals but somehow not vice versa, yet she didn't seem to be aware of that, and was happily enjoying the furry ride.

"What's this ?" Sanji asked.

"Huh ?" Eli raised her head sluggishly, yawned, and rubbed her eyes.

While strolling randomly in the jungle, they had come to a strange structure. It looked like a small house. It was square and bright white... and quite hard to miss in the middle of such a wild jungle.

When the pair got off the saber-toothed cat, the animal buzzed off without further ado.

"Is that... wax ?" Eli asked, examining the strange white matter.

"I think so, too." Sanji grabbed the door knob. "After you, mademoiselle," he said with a charming smile.

"Thank you." Eli took half a step toward the door and stopped. "Wait, what if it's a trap ?"

"You're right ! I should go first."

"... Not very gentlemanly for a guy to go first, though." Eli bit her bottom lip.

Sanji twitched, obviously facing an unsolvable dilemma. The mischievous girl chuckled inwardly, entering the house and leaving the young man and his double bind behind.

"Sanji, come in," she called out.

"Yes, Elisabeth !"

to be continued

* * *

**Betaed by Iwin Ulose.**

_Guess who's my favorite Strawhat ? :)  
Thanks for your heartwarming reviews ! They keep me going. _

Didn't know ducks tend to steal stuff, poor **Shibo26** !**  
**Don't worry **ThexWhitexPhoenix**, Eli's brain is perfectly fine.  
I gave you compliments to my beta **Tropicall**. And poor Sanji having these 'moments' only with guys :/  
Thank you **kaaayyytteee **!


	23. Ricecracker Party

**Chapter 23  
Rice-cracker Party **

Eli examined the interior of the strange house. It had a single room and was kinda small with two round windows on each wall. Furnishing was kept very simple. There was a table covered with a checkered tablecloth and surrounded by three stools and an arm chair. The only decoration apart from the tablecloth was a hole in the floor letting a small tree in. Everything was made of hardened wax.

"Look, there's tea !" Eli said happily, pointing at a lovely steaming tea set.

"And it's still warm," Sanji said, examining the teapot.

The pair sat down comfortably to enjoy an odd tea party.

Sanji poured the tea in two cups and handed one to the girl. "Here you are, Elisabeth chérie."

_This is fun_, she thought while sipping the warm beverage. Somehow, the tea must have had a calming effect on the pirates since their worries about their crewmates simply vanished.

"Bulu bulu bulu... Bulu bulu bulu..."

The pair looked around questioningly to find the source of the ringing, and they finally found a denden mushi in a straw picnic basket. Eli also found a small bag of rice crackers and took it while Sanji sat down and picked up the denden mushi.

"Hello," he greeted, "thanks for calling. This is the shitty restaurant." He gave Eli a wink. "Do you want to make a reservation ?"

Eli giggled as she nibbled on a rice cracker. 'Shitty Restaurant' was how the staff commonly referred to the Baratie.

"Cut the bullshit !" the man on the other side of the denden mushi said coldly. "Dickhead...."

The insulting tone of the man instantly froze the jolly mood.

"Your report is late."

"Huh ? Report ?" Sanji asked. "And by the way, who is this ?"

"It's me..." the man said, "Mr. Zero."

The pirates' faces darkened on the spot. This was a serious matter. They were talking directly to the boss of Baroque Works... a Shichibukai on top of that. Maybe they could use that to their advantage. Eli noticed that Mr. Three was written on the denden mushi's side. She silently pointed it out to Sanji.

_Mr. Three..._ So they were in their enemies' hideout, which meant that Baroque Works was on this very island. This was probably why their crewmates hadn't returned to the Merry yet. The worries that had previously left them came flowing back full force.

_I hope the others are okay,_ Eli thought, biting her bottom lip.

"I gave you orders days ago... Mr. Three. What's going on ?"

Eli rolled her hand to motion the cook to continue talking.

"I'm asking you a simple question, asshole." The man was growing impatient. "Have you killed the princess and those straw hat kids ?"

The girl and Sanji exchanged a knowing look.

"Ah. Yes, I killed everyone," Sanji replied in a relaxed manner, leaning back in the armchair. "Everyone who knew your secret is dead. No need to hunt them down anymore."

"I see... Good work," Mr. Zero said. "I sent the Unluckies to see you. They have an Eternal Pose to Alabasta for you."

_Unluckies ?_

"You and Miss Golden Week shall go to Alabasta. We've entered the last part of our plan. I'll give you further instructions after you've arrived."

At that moment, two strangely dressed animals appeared in the two windows.

In one window, there was an otter wearing sunglasses and a polka dotted sleep suit holding a pair of seashells with sharp claws on the fingers. The other window was occupied by a vulture also wearing sunglasses as well as a bathing cap. It had a pair of machine guns strapped to its back.

_I guess those are the 'Unluckies_', Eli thought, frowning at the two newcomers.

As the animals pointed their weapons threateningly at the pirates, they stood up briskly. When the vulture opened fire at the pair, they both evaded the bullets and quickly hid behind the table.

"What's going on ?" Mr. Zero asked over the denden mushi.

"I'll take the otter," Eli whispered in Sanji's ear.

The cook nodded.

The pirates jumped out of their hiding spot simultaneously. The otter jumped forward brandishing its seashells, but Eli launched her fist rapidly into its stomach, throwing the animal so violently into the wall that it left an imprinted mark behind. At the same time, Sanji jumped and caught the vulture's head between his feet, twirling in the air and breaking the animal's neck with a loud cracking sound that sent a shiver down Eli's spine.

"Oi ! What was that sound ?" Mr. Zero asked angrily.

Sanji quickly picked up the denden mushi. "Nothing... sir," he said, slightly panting. "One of those kids was still alive... but don't worry, I broke his neck. Rest assured."

Mr. Zero stayed silent for a few heavy seconds.

"Still... alive ?" he said slowly as if to weigh the words. "I thought you told me that you killed them..."

"Well.. yeah. Sorry, but those kids were stronger than I thought," Sanji replied, smirking.

"That means you gave me a false report... Mr. Three," Mr. Zero said coldly.

_Not very forgiving, are you, Mr. Zero..._

"Well... if you want to put it that way..." Sanji said carefully, "but now I'm sure they are 100% dead, aren't they, Miss Golden Week ?"

Eli leaned forward to get her mouth close to the receiver. "They sure are," she confirmed.

"Whatever.... Just go to Alabasta." He hung up.

Searching through the Unluckies' bags, Eli found the Eternal Pose to Alabasta. _Hehe..._ With that, the pirates would be able to leave Little Garden right away without having to wait for the Log Pose to lock onto the next island. She smirked while showing the Eternal Pose to Sanji.

* * *

"MY LOVELY LADIES !" Sanji came out of the jungle with his arms spread and his famous loving eyes focused on Nami and Vivi. "I'm so glad that you are safe !"

Eli rolled her eyes, walking behind the love cook. She was glad to see they were all okay, males included, but her eyes widened seeing that not only Ace, but now Luffy, Nami, and Zoro were shirtless.

_What the hell...?_

"Oh my dear Nami ! You're so sexy !" Sanji wooed, his eyes popping out of their sockets as he stared at the redhead's bra.

"Why is everyone shirtless ?" Eli asked, looking questioningly at the group. "Are you some kind of guru, Flame Boy..." She trailed off as her eyes fell on a frakingly huge foot.

_Oh... my... god..._ The girl's jaw dropped, her gaze slowly trailing up to a pair of huge faces belonging to giants.

"What's wrong, little lady ?" one of the giants asked in a booming voice, leaning forward to look at the gaping girl.

Luffy laughed. "Little lady ! No one has ever called Eli little !" He grinned.

Eli gulped. The girl had read about the existence of giants, of course.... Truly, she had read quite a lot since the subject had always fascinated the girl, but being able to _actually _face the real thing was really, _really_ different from reading books. It thrilled her.

"Can.. can you.. carry me ?" she stammered nervously like a fangirl.

The giants laughed loudly, and one of them offered his huge hand for the girl to jump on. She didn't even give it a second's thought and hopped on right away. As he brought his hand to his shoulder, the girl looked in awe at the amazing view Little Garden had to offer.

"... awesome," Eli breathed.

Soon, Luffy joined the girl rocket-style. "Eli is a big fan of yours, guys !" He laughed at the girl's amazed face and offered her a rice cracker. "Hey, giants ! I forgot to ask before but... can you poop ?"

Eli's eyes widened as she pictured the size of a giant's poop. "Luffy !" She elbowed the curious boy. "Of course they can poop !"

Luffy just laughed again.

"Anyway ! This is just great !" Eli said with a large grin plastered on her face. She gazed at the two smiling giants. "I have to draw you !"

While Eli was sketching the giants, Sanji told the group about the little hideout in the jungle, the Unluckies, and the little discussion he and the girl had had with Mr. Zero who had thought they were Mr. Three and Miss Golden Week.

"So... you had fun ?" Ace asked, sitting next to the girl.

"Of course," Eli replied, still focusing on her drawing. "Sanji is really fun to hang with. What about you ? Busy burning everything down, I suppose?"

"What can I say? Fire against wax... not a real challenge."

"Did you really have to burn off Nami's clothes, though ?" she asked, pointing her pen at the shirtless navigator.

Ace laughed, fixing his hat. "Aw, come on, at least I left the bra, right ?"

Eli sighed._ Pervert... _she thought before resuming to her sketch.

When Sanji showed the Eternal Pose to Alabasta that they had managed to retrieve from the Unluckies, Vivi flew into the young man's arms happily which, of course, made Sanji even happier.

The pirates didn't have time to linger in Little Garden anymore; they had to head to Alabasta right away. Eli closed her book and thanked the giants, hoping they would meet again.

"It's time to say goodbye." Luffy waved at the two giants. "Good luck !"

* * *

After a little fight between Sanji and Zoro about the size of their respective hunting loot which, to the rest of the crew's opinion, were both about the same, the Merry was sailing up the river to leave Little Garden. When the pirates spotted the two giants on the shore opening the path to the sea, they happily waved goodbye. Eli was sad to leave the giants so soon, but like Usopp, she promised herself that she would one day go to their motherland, Elbaf.

_Must be frakingly awesome_, Eli thought, picturing the giant streets, buildings, and meals...

"You have protected our honor with your lives. So, no matter what will come..."

"...we won't let anything happen to you."

"Trust in us."

"And no matter what happens, keep heading straight !"

The crew was puzzled at the giants' mysterious speech.

"We shall meet again !"

The Merry was now in the open sea. As they started to sail peacefully away from Little Garden, a ginormous goldfish emerged from the waters, creating a large wave that shook the ship violently. The crew gawked staring at the monstrous fish. It was almost as big as an island and it clearly wasn't friendly as it opened its huge mouth to swallow the little ship.

"Hurry up and change the course !" Nami yelled frantically. "Usopp, hurry up !!" she ordered upon seeing that the marksman hadn't moved.

"NO !" Usopp shouted, frowning at the navigator. He turned to look at Luffy. "We will head straight ! Isn't that right, Captain ?"

How brave he was. Even though he was the perfect picture of fear, the long-nosed boy trusted the giants above all.

"Yep ! Absolutely !" Luffy smiled. "Here Nami, take a rice cracker." He handed the last cracker to the trembling redhead.

Heading straight toward the monster's open mouth, Nami was sobbing as she nibbled on her rice cracker.

"Heading straight, Luffy !" Usopp yelled with fear in his voice.

"Going FORWARD !!" Luffy yelled back, his voice nothing but confidence as he threw an arm in the air.

_Yeah right, going straight to our deaths..._ Eli thought, gripping the railing.

The goldfish closed its gigantic mouth on the ship as the majority of the crew screamed. They soon found themselves sailing in pitch black. Eli's grip on the railing tightened. She closed her eyes praying for their safety....

"HOLY WIND LANCE !!!"

Eli snapped her eyes open and blinked rapidly in the sudden light, not quite sure of what had just happened.

The Merry had been shot through a large hole in the goldfish and was now flying through the air.

"YAHOO !! We're flying !" Luffy yelled ecstatically.

After a few long seconds of flight, the ship landed and splashed heavily on the surface of the sea.

"HEADING STRAIGHT !!" the giants shouted, pointing their broken weapons forward.

to be continued

* * *

**Betaed by Iwin Ulose.**

_Little Garden... done !  
I hope you enjoyed spending some time with Sanji :)  
_  
Thank you for reviewing **ThexWhitexPhoenix**, **kaaayyytteee **and **Shibo26 **:)  
Never tried aloe vera ice cream **Tropicall**, doesn't seem really... appealing XD I like Flame Boy ! And Ace is so cute with cat whiskers...


	24. Shiny Things

**Chapter 24  
Shiny Things**

After the memorable departure from Little Garden, the Merry was sailing peacefully once more on the dangerous waters of the Grand Line.

"Elbaf... Elbaf... Giants of Elbaf..." Usopp and Luffy were singing and dancing happily on the railing of the ship.

Eli was sitting against the mast next to Nami who seemed a bit exhausted. _Probably because of the fight in Little Garden, _Eli thought.

"I don't know why, but I'm pretty tired. Can you take care of the course for me ?" Nami handed the Eternal Pose to Vivi. "Finally, we are heading to Alabasta." The navigator gave her a weary smile.

"Yes," Vivi said apprehensively. "I have to return to Alabasta.... I am the only one who can free my country."

Eli looked at the brave princess. Even if she had seen her smile from time to time, Eli could almost picture the heavy burden the girl had on her shoulders.

"Try to relax, my dear Vivi," Sanji said with a charming smile. "Just take a good rest and enjoy my food." He handed the girls a plate of petits fours.

After taking a bite, Eli went to see Zoro who was training on the upper deck. He was swinging an impressive stack of weights skewered on a metal bar. She sat on the railing and looked in awe at the swordsman.

"Don't you think you're working a bit too much ?" she asked.

"If I could have cut that wax... no one would have gotten hurt," he said, slightly panting but still swinging his heavy skewer. "I have to be able to cut through everything... even iron."

Zoro's determination was inspiring. Eli smiled, jumped off the railing, and walked to a stack of weights that the swordsman wasn't using. She grabbed one and tried to pull it up.

_What the hell !_

Eli winced as she concentrated all of her strength on her arms but still didn't manage to make it budge at all.

"You need something ?" Zoro asked, looking over his shoulder.

Eli straightened briskly. "No...nothing... haha," she laughed sheepishly, wiping the sweat on her forehead.

_That man in cruhaaazy_, Eli thought, walking away with wide eyes.

* * *

Eli was on watch duty tonight. Lying on the deck, she was stargazing. This particular pastime completely fit that night since it was her birthday. Observing the celestial bodies, she tried to make out the constellations like her father had taught her.

The girl traced them with her finger. _Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Drago, Cepheus, Cassiopeia... _she listed silently.

Eli dropped her arm on the wooden floor, letting out a soft sigh. _I miss you, Dad...._

"Oi Twig."

The girl sat up brusquely and watched Ace questioningly as he slowly walked over to her.

"Still having insomnia, Freckles ?" Eli asked. Because of his numerous day naps, the young man had always had difficulties sleeping at night.

"Yup, and the boys are so noisy..." he sighed, sitting next to her.

"You could use my bed if you want," she offered naturally. After all, she wouldn't be using it since she was stuck on night watch.

Ace raised a questioning eyebrow. "I thought it was your 'precious'...."

_It's okay as long as I'm not on it_, Eli thought, rolling her eyes.

"Just change the sheets," she said, falling on her back with her hands behind her neck.

The young man laughed childishly.

After a minute of an unbearably heavy silence, Eli was losing patience. Ace was still there even though she had politely offered him her bed to rest, and the young man was completely silent. She had no idea why he was even here, but she felt quite uncomfortable.

Eli sat up and folded her legs. "So... how can I help you ?" she asked slowly.

Ace smirked at the impatient girl. He searched through his pouch and produced a small, green silk bag.

"Happy birthday," he said casually, handing the small bag to Eli.

_A gift ? For me ?_ Eli took the bag and stared at it confusingly.

"The gift is inside, Twig," Ace said in a mocking tone.

Eli grumbled, opening the silk bag carefully. _What is that ? _She tilted the bag, making a small and dense white, nacreous ball fall in the palm of her hand. When it touched the girl's skin, it started emitting a faint greenish glow. Eli tilted her head questioningly, gazing at the odd shining ball.

"It's called a firefly," Ace began to explain. "It's a pearl that glows when warmed. I found it in an island called Akoya that harvests all kinds of pearls."

Eli closed her hands on the pearl and blew inside to warm it. When she opened her hands again, the pearl's glow was a lot brighter. Her lips curled up in a blissful smile.

"You like shiny things right ?" Ace said.

"I DO !" Eli replied happily, the pearl's glow reflecting in her green eyes. "... sounds like I'm a child though..." she pouted.

Ace laughed heartily. "But you are, Twig !"

But Eli didn't care if the young man made fun of her; his gift was great and she admired its glow happily.

"I love it," she said. Looking at Ace, the girl gave a quick peck on his freckled cheek. "Thank you."

Ace smiled warmly. "It's nothing... really. I came across it during my journey and I thought you might like it...."

"I still love it, Freckles! And now I have to think of a gift for _your _birthday...." The girl brought a finger to her chin and looked upward thoughtfully. "You like pervy stuff, right ? ... Now where do I find a blow-up doll..." She stuck out her tongue playfully at the laughing young man before gazing again at her lovely gift.

They spent the night together eating roasted chestnuts while Eli told Ace some of the stars' legends from her village... and when there were no more tales to tell, they just stargazed silently until dawn appeared on the horizon.

* * *

When the morning came, Ace and Eli walked to the lounge to get their breakfast.

Eli yawed. "I want... waffles !" the girl said happily, climbing up the stairs.

"I thought _I_ was the waffle master !" Ace retorted, following her.

"Sorry, Freckles, but Sanji inherited that title," Eli told him, opening the door. "Good morning !" she greeted cheerily.

"Good morning, Elisabeth." Sanji was already there cooking, and Luffy was hovering around him claiming how hungry he was.

Right after Eli and Ace sat down, Vivi burst into the room slamming the door open. "Everyone, come to the women's quarters !" she yelled frantically. "Miss Nami has a very high fever !"

Without further explanation, the crew rushed to the bedroom. They found Nami lying in her bed sweating and panting. Eli kneeled next to her bed and rested her hand on Nami's forehead. She found it extremely hot.

"I took her temperature," Vivi said, "40 degrees celsius...."

"This might be just a cold, but 40 degrees..." Eli said, alarmed. "Her condition is serious."

The rest of the crew didn't seem to grasp the gravity of the situation. Luffy was casually prescribing a large amount of meat for the sick girl. Sanji had to _actually _explain to him that it wasn't so simple.

"Is being sick really that painful ?" Luffy asked.

"Dunno, never been sick before...." Sanji and Usopp replied.

"Freaks..." Eli muttered, rolling her eyes.

"If we can't find a treatment fast... she'll die...." Vivi said gravely, looking at the careless young men.

Luffy, Usopp, Sanji, and Carue began to yell and run around crying, praying, and holding their heads.

"Nami is going to die !"

"Dear Nami, don't die please !!"

"Kwaaaak !"

Ace hit them on the heads frowning. "Just shut up, you're not helping."

"Thank you," Vivi said, kneeling next to Eli. "Do any of you have any medical knowledge ?"

Eli shook her head and looked at her suffering friend sadly. "We need to go find a doctor..."

"We can't wait any longer...." Nami said wearily, using her arms for support to sit up. "Vivi, go read the newspaper in my desk...."

Vivi got up and opened the desk's drawer. Her eyes widened as she read the paper. Eli joined her and read over her shoulder. Several hundred thousands of royal Alabastan troops had switched sides to join the rebel army which meant that now the rebels had more soldiers, and the civil war was about to begin.

"I'm sorry I didn't show you the paper sooner, Vivi," Nami said. "But since we couldn't go any faster, I thought it would be useless to make you worry more." She slipped slowly out of her bed. "Anyway, let's go to Alabasta."

Nami was smiling wearily, her face was red from the fever, and she was still panting.

"Are you crazy, Nami ? You have to rest !" Eli frowned at the girl's tough act.

Vivi was still staring at the newspaper, clenching the paper tightly in her fists, tears streaming from her eyes.

"Vivi you have to stop her ! She'll only listen to you !" Eli yelled angrily.

However, the princess was speechless. Her duty for her country was too heavy.

Eli gritted her teeth. She knew that thousands of lives were at stake, but she couldn't bear to see her friend suffer. Ace placed his hand on her shoulder. When she looked at him, he shook his head sadly. Eli glared right through his black eyes.

Was he also agreeing with this ? He would sacrifice their friend for a greater cause ? The girl jerked his hand off her shoulder and marched out of the room.

* * *

Nami was on the deck holding onto the railing for support. "There will be a storm heading towards us soon..." she said, looking at the horizon.

One after the other, every man of the crew tried to tell her to go get some rest, but she was only getting angrier. She barked orders sharply to get the ship moving. The pirates complied, but they were still worried about their navigator's state. She seemed to be getting weaker by the minute, but she still insisted to stay there.

Vivi came out of the galley. She grabbed the banister firmly with a grave look on her face.

"I would like to ask you a favor," she began solemnly. "My country is in great danger, and I can't waste even one second... so I would like everyone to head to Alabasta with the fastest speed !"

Everyone looked at Vivi coldly. Eli knew everything about the sword of Damocles hanging over the princess's head, but asking the pirates to forget about their friend's health was just selfish... and wrong !

"So, let's find a doctor to cure Miss Nami !" Vivi finished. "When she is cured, we can go with the fastest speed, right ?"

"That's right !" Luffy agreed, grinning. "There's nothing that can make this ship go faster than Nami in good health."

Eli smiled in relief. She was happy that Vivi had proved her wrong.

"Sorry Vivi, but I don't think I can go on..." Nami trailed off before collapsing in the princess's arms.

"Guys..." Eli called out.

But the crew was so happy with Vivi's decision that they didn't hear her.

"GUYS !!! There's a huge cyclone right over there !!" Eli yelled, pointing at the fraking gigantic typhoon.

"WOW !" Luffy's eyes widened in amazement at the sight of the great disaster they had just barely avoided. It filled him and his crewmates with awe as they stared at it.

"That was the direction we were heading in..." Sanji muttered.

_But the sky was so clear a minute ago.... How could Nami have predicted this ?_

"I've never seen a navigator like her," Vivi whispered, looking at Nami.

* * *

When the night came, everyone slept in the women's quarters, except for Sanji who was on watch duty, so the room was pretty much cramped. They were so worried about their navigator's state, they just couldn't leave her alone.

Eli was in her bed staring at the ceiling. She couldn't sleep. The first reason was the boys' snores, and the second was because her mind was way too preoccupied. She sighed and slipped out of her bed. The girl tiptoed carefully toward Nami's bed. She stepped over Carue, Zoro, Ace, and at last Vivi to finally reach the girl's bed. Eli took the towel off Nami's forehead to freshen it up.

"Eli ?" Nami whispered.

"Sorry, did I wake you ?" Eli whispered, touching the girl's forehead. It seemed even hotter than before.

"No, don't worry." Nami smiled wearily.

"Here, drink." Eli held the sick navigator's head to help her drink some water.

Nami looked around the bedroom. "So they're all here ?"

"Yep, they wouldn't leave your side, Nami," Eli said softly, carefully placing the fresh towel on the girl's forehead.

Nami sighed happily and soon fell back asleep.

to be continued

* * *

**Betaed by Iwin Ulose.**

_I have published the first chapter of the sidefic from Ace's point of view. It's called 'Twig' (yeah I know so much imagination, it's scary)  
I hope you'll like it :)_

_I also hope you liked this chapter._

_Thank you for reviewing._

Yup **ThexWhitexPhoenix **you thank me a lot for updating, and I thank you a lot for reviewing so... And I would love to go to Elbaf too, just imagine the size of their cakes...  
Thank you **kaaayyytteee** and **Shibo26**.

_From now on I'll reply personally and privately to each and every review ! I hope you won't mind :)_


	25. Doctor Who

**Chapter 25**  
**Doctor Who**

Rubbing her gloved hands together to warm them up, Eli was observing the sky. It had become more overcast as the hours passed. It seemed like it could snow any minute now.

"The temperature seems to have stabilized," Vivi began. "I think there might be a winter island around here."

Eli turned to face the girl. "Winter island ? What do you mean ?"

"On the Grand Line, there are four types of islands: spring, summer, fall and winter," Vivi explained. "And each of these islands will have its own four seasons as well... which means you can find sixteen different types of climate on the Grand Line."

Eli and Usopp gawked in awe. The Grand Line was really something.... The fish, the weather, the danger, everything was greater on these mysterious waters.

"And since the weather has been pretty much stable since yesterday, we can assume we are near an island."

"You're right..." Sanji said, looking through the binoculars. "I can see an island right ahead of us."

Eli lips curled up into a grateful smile. An island, at last. This was very good news. With any luck, they would soon find a doctor who could cure their dear navigator. "I'll go warn the captain !"

Vivi followed the girl to the women's quarters where Luffy was watching over Nami. Sitting stiffly on a chair next to the bed, the young captain was staring at the sick girl.

"Luffy, we found an island !" Eli announced happily.

"An island !" Luffy cried out.

Eli nodded with a wide grin.

"Did you hear that, Nami ?" Luffy said excitedly. "An island ! We've reached an island !"

He tapped his foot rapidly on the wooden floor, staring at Nami with a face-splitting grin and eyes wide as dinner plates.

"... If you want to see it that much, just go..." Vivi said, rolling her eyes.

* * *

"WOW ! An island !" Luffy yelled ecstatically.

Eli sat next to the boy on the figurehead. "Told you !"

The said island was completely frozen white. It was fairy-like. There were about seven large cylindrical mountains that looked like giant drums.

"And it's so white... Must be snow ! It's a snow island !" Luffy enthused rapidly, his wide, amazed eyes never leaving the island.

"Luffy, remember, we have no time to play around," Sanji scolded. "We have to find a doctor for Nami."

"Snow is so beautiful...." Luffy said softly, ignoring the cook's lecture.

"He's not even listening...." Sanji sighed.

Eli looked over her shoulder. "Don't be so grumpy, Sanji !" She turned her head to face the incoming island. "Snow IS beautiful," she agreed with admiration.

"Hey Luffy, remember when Eli saw her first snow ?" Ace asked, smirking.

"That was hilarious !" The boy laughed loudly.

* * *

Eli was curled into a tight ball against a tree while Luffy and Ace were fighting in the forest. Rubbing her arms vigorously, the girl wondered how the boys could handle the cold. Being born on a much hotter island, she had never experienced such an extremely frigid temperature. Even though she was wearing multiple layers of clothes, Eli couldn't help but shiver from the cold.

_What is that ?_

Her eyes caught a tiny white thing falling slowly onto her glove. She stared at the strange thing questioningly. Up close, it looked like a tiny crystal.

"SNOW !" Luffy yelled ecstatically.

_Snow ?_ Eli's eyes widened with terror, watching as hundreds of thousands of snowflakes fell threateningly on her. _OH GOD ! SNOW !_

The frightened girl yelled frantically on top of her lungs, running toward the two brothers. She gripped their clothes desperately, her wide eyes filled with dread, and started running for safety, dragging the two puzzled boys behind.

"ELIII !" they yelled in unison.

But the hysterical girl didn't hear them as her ears were filled with the deafening beats of her heart as it hammered against her chest. Once she had reached their home, Eli threw them inside, slammed the door shut, and knelt next to the nearest window to observe the disaster rapidly engulfing the town.

_Oh my god..._

Ace cleared his throat. "Hrm... Eli ?"

_How could they be so calm ?_ she wondered, glancing nervously over her shoulder.

"What's going on, Eli ?" Luffy asked, crouching with Ace next to the shivering girl.

"It's snowing...." she muttered.

* * *

"Hey... like you said... it was my _first _snow...." Eli pouted, folding her arms before the laughing crew.

Before that very first time, the girl had only heard of snow in legends from her village. The said legends always told that the white marvel she now loved so much was an extremely bad omen; it brought misery, disease, and death with it. Anyway, from that day on, Eli fell in love with snow.... Its whiteness, its fluffiness enchanted her to no end. Admiring the wonderful scenery made her almost forget the main reason as to why they had to find an island in the first place.

"This is so great !" Luffy was watching the island with amazement. "There's so much snow !"

"I know !" The girl's eyes sparkled just like Luffy's.

"Those two brothers are crazy," a shivering Usopp said, looking at Ace and Luffy. "Hey, aren't you guys cold at all ?"

Luffy was wearing nothing more than his usual outfit, a sleeveless vest and jean shorts, and Ace was as shirtless as ever. On the other hand, the rest of the crew members were wearing thick coats, gloves, and scarves, and Eli wore earmuffs to complete the I-am-dead-freezing look. The girl liked snow, but it didn't mean she could handle the cold.

"Eh ?" Luffy looked at Usopp questioningly for a few seconds before rubbing his arms vigorously. "It's so cold !"

"You just realized that !" Usopp and Sanji yelled in bewilderment at their captain's slowness.

Luffy ran into the ship and came back a few seconds later wearing a coat. Ace laughed childishly. Apparently, being a fire fruit user had more than one application...

* * *

The Merry was slowly sailing inland up a river when the crew spotted a large crowd that had gathered on the shore. From the look of their arsenal, they didn't seem as welcoming as the people of Whiskey Peak... or rather, not as welcoming as those bounty hunters seemed to be before they were found out.

"Pirates ! Get off this island," a large man ordered, stepping out of the belligerent crowd toward the ship. "You are not welcome here."

By the look of it, it seemed like he was the one in charge. He was extremely large and tall, wore a green outfit, and his arms were covered with armor.

Luffy ran briskly to the railing to face the man. "We are looking for a doctor !"

"We have a sick person on board," Vivi added desperately.

The crowd roared angrily. "That trick won't work on us, you evil pirates !" They pointed their guns at the crew. "Just get out or we'll shoot you !"

"What ? We just met and they already hate us ?" Sanji frowned at the crowd scornfully. "SHUT UP !"

As he was about to attack them, Vivi intervened to stop him. "Sanji, WAIT !"

A gunshot banged through the air noisily.

Eli saw the bullet in slow motion; it was about to hit Vivi. She ran to push the precious princess, but she wasn't quick enough to get herself out of harm's way as well and the bullet grazed her own arm. Eli winced at the sharp and unexpected pain.

"ELI !" the pirates yelled, looking at their mate as blood began to drip from her arm.

"...I'm okay," she said quietly, looking at the blood staining her coat.

"HOW DARE YOU !" Luffy roared with rage in his eyes.

"We're going to make you pay for that...." Ace snarled through gritted teeth, cracking his fingers.

The men of the crew were about to attack the villagers when Vivi jumped in their way. "Don't fight them !" she pleaded.

"I said I'm okay, it's just a scratch," Eli said calmly, looking alternately at every one of her furious crewmates to ease their rage.

Vivi nodded and turned to face the crowd. "We won't do anything. Our friend is in serious condition !" She knelt on the deck, bowing her head to the floor. "Please help us !"

Eli cursed herself inwardly for her lack of speed. Now the villagers wouldn't let them dock, and they wouldn't be able find a doctor for their sick friend... She imitated Vivi, hoping that it would be enough to ease their fears.

"Eli... Vivi..." Luffy muttered.

"You have to understand the duty of a good captain, Luffy," Vivi scolded. "If you attack them, what will happen to Nami ?"

Luffy was silently watching Eli's blood dripping on the deck. She turned her head to look at him and nodded reassuringly, silently letting him know that she was fine and the princess was right. The boy turned around resolutely to face the edgy crowd.

"I'm sorry, it's all my fault." He knelt down. "Please call a doctor. Please help our friend !"

The crowd stared speechlessly at the begging pirates for a moment.

"We will take you to our village," the man in charge finally conceded. "Follow us... but I have to warn you, we only have one doctor on this island, and she's a witch."

* * *

The pirates followed the man obediently, leaving Zoro and Caru in the Merry to guard it. Walking to his village, the man introduced himself; his name was Dalton, and apparently, he was highly respected by the people of this country even though he claimed not to deserve it.

Walking to the village, Eli admired the scenery. She had never seen so much snow in her life; it really was fairy-like.

"AAAHH ! A BEAR !" Usopp yelled on top of his lungs, his mouth and eyes wide open as he looked at a large white bear holding an ice axe. "Everyone pretend to be dead !" He promptly fell in the snow, his arms and legs widely spread.

"It's just a hiking bear," Dalton said casually. "He's not dangerous. Just don't forget to bow to him."

The group bowed at the huge white bear, and he bowed back politely.

"That's...so... cute...." Eli's pace slowed down, her sparkling eyes following the bear.

The girl bit her bottom lip as she watched the bear disappear into the forest, fighting her desire to follow him. After all, Nami was in good hands; there was nothing further she could do to help her.... Eli took a step toward the direction where the bear went.

"Twig, come on !"

_Damn !_

Eli glared over her shoulder. The rest of the group was already gone, but Ace had stayed behind and was waiting for her, his hands resting on his hips.

"I just-"

"I know," he interrupted her. "You'll go after him once your wound is bandaged." He gave her a gentle smile.

Eli pondered for a few seconds, sighed, and walked over to the young man compliantly.

About ten minutes later, the group had arrived at a village called Big Horn. The villagers thanked Dalton and dispersed through the town while the man took the pirates to his house.

"You can use the bed over there for your sick friend," Dalton offered. "Let me warm the room up." He walked to the fireplace to start a fire.

"Thank you, you're very kind," Ace said politely. "If it's not too much trouble, could you please lend me a first aid kit ?"

* * *

"Owowow !" Eli winced. "Don't ! Ow ! Let me- ! Hiiiii ! It stiiiiiings !"

Ace leaned back, rolling his eyes. "And just when I thought you had become a brave girl...."

"Haha, I was pretty cool, wasn't- ow ow !"

"You should be more careful," Ace said, carefully disinfecting the girl's wound.

"You're worrying about me.... How cute." She grinned watching him.

Ace silently focused on Eli's wound, bandaging her arm as gently as possible. "Done."

Eli looked at her arm. "Thanks." She turned around to look at Vivi. "How is Nami ?"

The princess looked anxious. "Her temperature has risen again. We have to find a doctor fast." She stood up and walked to Dalton. "Please tell us where this witch lives."

"Can you see the castle on the top of that mountain ?" Dalton pointed to the top of the tallest mountain through the window.

Eli narrowed her eyes. She could distinguish the shape of the said castle. She smiled happily, thinking how it totally fitted with the whole fairy-tale-like scenery. The girl got her book and pen out of her bag and started drawing the magical sight.

"Right now, there's no king living in there, and the only doctor who is still in this country, the one the people call 'a witch'... the doctor Kureha, is living in that castle," he explained. "If you want to save your friend, you'll have to take her there because there is no way to contact her."

"But how can she be a doctor then ?" Vivi asked, obviously puzzled at this doctor's odd behavior. "What do you do when someone is sick ?"

"She comes when she wants, looks for the patients, and treats them. However, after that, she'll take anything she wants as payment. Rumor says that she flies through the sky to come down here, and that's why people call her a witch."

From the description, Eli thought that the doctor sounded like a pirate. How unlucky they were to end up in a country that housed only one doctor, and apparently not even the traditional kind.

Luffy stood up and walked to Nami's bedside. He patted the girl's cheek to wake her up. "Hey Nami ! We have to take you to a doctor up the mountain," he said to the waking girl. "Let's go hiking." He grinned.

"I'll leave it to you," Nami said with a weary smile before falling back asleep.

to be continued

* * *

**Betaed by Iwin Ulose.**

_Sorry for the delay, the next chapter will be published really soon though._  
_I hope you liked this one, and don't forget to check my sidefic, from Ace's point of view : 'Twig'._  
_See you soon~_


	26. Treacherous Embrace

**Chapter 26  
Treacherous Embrace **

"Why didn't you go with them, Freckles ?" Eli asked, rubbing her hands before the fireplace.

"You want me to go ?" Ace raised an eyebrow.

She frowned at him. What kind of answer was that ?

"Anyway... I'm off !" The girl put her book back in her bag, slipped her hands into her gloves, got up, and put on her coat.

"I'll go with you."

Eli swung around and looked at Ace from toe to head scornfully. "I don't think so...." She walked out of the house, soon followed by the young man.

"And may I ask why ?" Ace hurried on, holding his hat to his head.

"You'll fall asleep, or you'll try to stop me from doing things you consider 'reckless'.... Maybe both."

Vivi and Usopp were outside having a quiet discussion with Dalton. Eli informed them that she was going to go explore a bit, waved them goodbye, and started marching toward the place where they had met the hiking bear.

She sighed seeing Ace still following her. "Can't get enough of me, can you ?"

The young man laughed childishly, speeding up his pace to walk by her side.

That's when she noticed something under the young man's cloak, but as she couldn't quite believe what she saw, she decided to check it out. Lifting it slightly, she couldn't help but gawk.

"How can you walk around in the snow only wearing a cloak ?" she asked, staring in disbelief at his shirtlessness.

His only answer was a face-splitting smirk.

"This is truly outrageous.... Truly truly truly outrageous !"

* * *

After about fifteen minutes of an intensive search, the two explorers finally found the trail of the hiking bear. Ace had proved himself worthy of the expedition, being the first to spot the bear's spoor.

They were now following the trail laboriously as the snow's endless descent did its best to hinder them.

Suddenly, Ace pulled the girl's arm and crouched to hide behind a rock.

"What ?" she whispered.

"I think I heard something...." he said, looking above the rock carefully.

Eli joined him, her face lighting up with delight as she spotted a hiking bear. He was a bit smaller than the first one they had met. She turned around and sat against the rock, giggling.

Ace smirked. "Am I good or what ?"

Yes he was, but she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of agreeing. He was already arrogant enough for her taste. Eli turned and looked once more above the rock. She could still spot the bear, and he was now far enough for them to start following him.

"Let's go," she said, standing up.

The girl started walking toward the bear, but upon hearing only her own footsteps in the deep snow, she turned around, wondering what was holding back her partner.

_Of course..._

Eli slapped her forehead seeing Ace deeply asleep against the rock. She sighed, pondered a few seconds, and decided to follow the animal alone considering that _his _narcolepsy shouldn't get in the way of _her _pleasure.

After about ten minutes, the girl wasn't regretting her decision since the bear had taken her to his den. Yelps of delight escaped her mouth as she watched two cubs play in the snow.

_Oh god, it's too cute !_ she thought, biting her bottom lip.

Lying in the snow, Eli giggled watching the lovely baby bears. She produced her book and pen from her bag and started sketching the precious scene.

"You're going to catch a cold."

"Shhh !" The girl grabbed Ace and pulled him down to her side with a frown. "They'll hear you," she whispered, annoyed.

"Your nose is red and-" The young man's lecture was interrupted as Eli slammed her hand against his mouth. He sighed and put his bright hat away so that the animals wouldn't spot them.

Her gaze once again on the lovely scene, Eli's smile made its way back onto her face, now reddened from the cold. "Aren't they the cutest...?"

After a few minutes, the large bear, probably one of the cub's parents, walked away and disappeared behind a bunch of trees. Without wasting a second, Eli put her stuff back in her bag and stood up.

"Oh no, you're not..." Ace said, frowning at the girl.

"Try to stop me !" she taunted, walking rapidly toward the cubs.

When the two little bears heard the footsteps, their wrestling stopped instantly and they stood up to look questioningly at the two tall humans walking their way.

As she was only a few meters away, Eli bowed politely before them like Dalton had taught her to. Seeing the cubs bowing back, her insides melted instantly.

_Awwwwww..._

Eli's already weak restraints completely vanished before the way-too-frakingly-cute animals. She knelt and hugged them tightly in her arms. They were so warm, and soft, and cute.... The girl's train of thought was lost in this complete ecstasy.

"Twig !" Ace called out urgently.

She looked over her shoulder at the young man, her eyes hazy from the blissful hug.

"We have to leave... now !" he ordered, staring behind the girl with anxiety in his dark eyes.

Eli followed the young man's stare sluggishly.

_Uh_ _oh..._

Her eyes snapped wide open upon seeing that a large group of hiking bears were glaring at her, holding their ice axes rather belligerently. When she let go of the two cubs, they ran and hid behind the adults. Eli stood up and bowed... but this time, the bears didn't bow back. Instead, they started marching toward the pair, growling angrily.

* * *

Ace and Eli were lying in the snow, panting heavily from the frantic run to escape the bears' fury. They exchanged a look and burst out in laughter. Running in the snow like two stupid kids while chased by a dozen armed bears was indeed quite a funny experience in hindsight. When the laughing fit finally died out, they got up, brushed the snow off their clothes, and started walking away from each other.

"Where are you going, Twig ? The town is this way...." Ace pointed a thumb in the opposite direction of where Eli was heading to.

"Didn't Dalton mention snow rabbits ?" she asked, tilting her head slightly to the side.

"Oh, please...." Ace brought his hand to his forehead and started rubbing it. All of a sudden, he jerked his head toward the mountain. "What is that sound ?"

Eli strained her ears to hear a distant rumbling. "Wind ?" The girl shrugged.

However, it was becoming louder by the second. Ace and Eli looked attentively toward the sound, their eyes widening as the incoming danger in the form of an enormous white fog was coming at them, fast.

"That's bad...." the girl muttered. "That's extremely... very... not good...."

Grabbing Ace's wrist, Eli started running as fast as the young man could. Her ears were filled with the thundering of the mass of snow threatening to engulf them. She took a look over her shoulder and gritted her teeth seeing the avalanche getting closer....

Ace stopped running, making the girl almost trip over her own feet.

"What the frak are you doing ?" she yelled bewilderedly as the young man ran in the direction of the avalanche. "ACE !"

"RUN !" he shouted back at the top of his lungs.

_What ?_ How could he ask her to run away now !

Eli saw a wide fire circle spread around him before disappearing in the white mist.

And, unexpectedly, the thundering stopped at once.

_How ? Why ? What ?_

The sudden silence was deafening. What could possibly have stopped an avalanche ? Eli felt a heavy and unbearable heat enveloping her for a second before hearing the sound of torrential rain cascading down on her.

"He evaporated the avalanche..." she muttered in disbelief.

The girl started wading toward her friend with difficulty, submerged under the exceptionally heavy rain. She smiled with relief seeing he was unharmed.

"Atchoo !"

* * *

"I I ccan do itt myselffff." Eli's teeth were chattering so loudly, the sound resonated through the cavern they were in.

Ace frowned. "Really ? Do it then," he said, taking a small step away from the shivering girl.

She tried to grip the zipper of her coat but her numb fingers didn't seem to be very cooperative.

"Frr Frakkk !"

"See ?" He grabbed the zipper, undid it, and took off her coat. "The sweater and the trousers have to go, too. They're completely drenched."

_And whose fault is that ?_

Eli slowly raised her trembling arms a bit so that he could remove her sweater. Bending a little, he then slipped her pants off.

"Thisss iss sooo emmbabarasssssingg."

"Well, get used to it 'cause I have to take off your t-shirt, too."

"Dddon't !" She covered her chest with her arms.

Ace sighed deeply, rolling his eyes. "This is not a good moment to be prudish, Twig."

"I ddon't wearrr brrra...."

"Oh...." He blinked. "Never ?"

_Pervert..._

"It'sss nott likkke I neeed onnne, anywayyy." She sat down and curled up into a tight ball next to the campfire.

After a few minutes Eli was feeling a little better. Her skin was slowly beginning to dry. Extending her fingers to the fire to warm them faster, she felt her fingertips tingle. She gritted her teeth as the increasing pain spread through her hands. It felt like they were burning now, and tears began to flow from her green eyes. She jolted away from the campfire with a whine.

Ace rushed to her side. "What's wrong ?"

"Itt burnsss !" she sobbed, clenching her fists.

He knelt down and took her hands in his, gently opening them, and looked worriedly at her bluish fingertips. This wasn't good. Eli knew that she was suffering from frostbite and maybe even a mild case of hypothermia, but she couldn't bear seeing Ace worry, and his unnaturally warm and tender touch was even less bearable.

The young man looked surprised when she took her hands back.

"It'ss okkayyy noww, thanksss," she said, staring at the flames.

He sat next to her and put his hat on the floor. "Come here, I'll warm you up. Body heat is best in this situation."

Eli rolled her eyes. _Of course... body heat..._

"I don'tt thinkkk ssso...." she said, wrapping her arms around her legs. "Thisss iss ssoooo ccliché...."

On top of cliché, this was, above all, dangerous. The girl was aware of her current state of vulnerability and remembering the 'wrist incident', she was afraid of what she might feel, or worse, _do_ in his arms.

"I don't care if it's cliché, Twig," he scolded harshly, glaring at her stubborn demeanor. "Stop acting like a brat !"

Eli abruptly stood up and glared back down at him, her fists clenched in anger. "Yyou sstopp accting likke a ffrakking knightt in sshining arrmorr !" she snapped. "Jusstt go andd fffind some helpp !"

"I won't leave you alone, idiot...." he said softly.

Standing up as well, Ace firmly pressed her shaking form against his bare chest. A soft moan escaped her mouth when her cold body came in contact with his warm skin. It made her feel dizzy and... good. Eli didn't struggle, for all of her fears instantly vaporised. It felt so good, how could it be wrong... ?

As Ace slowly stepped back to sit on a large rock, she followed him instinctively, not wanting to leave the warm embrace. He grabbed her legs to wrap them around his waist and gently rubbed her cold thighs. Eli closed her eyes to fully enjoy his captivating touch.

_Ace..._

It felt so good.... His warmth was so bewitching that her weary body started moving on its own, placing her arms around his broad shoulders and burying her face in his neck. Ace gently wrapped his arms around her thin back and rubbed her cold shoulders.

He was really... "Warm..." she murmured drowsily.

Within Ace's warmth, Eli's mind went blank. The world could have crumbled, she wouldn't have noticed. She didn't even notice that the young man's heating massage had slowly turned gentler as time passed. His thumbs slowly drew firm circles in her cold skin. The girl forgot who she was, where she was, and everything else.... All that remained was his skin, his touch, his warmth, his scent....

_Ace..._

Eli took a deep breath to fill her lungs with his delicious scent. "You smell good...."

The young man gasped. "Wha-"

Ace was interrupted by the soft pressure of her cold fingers crawling up the back of his neck and through his silky hair. Of course, before this, Eli had always been carefully avoiding any close contact with the young man, for he was her friend above all. But her weakness and his unnatural body heat broke down her moral restraints. She vaguely felt his neck tense under her grazing touch, yet she didn't care. It felt so good....

Eli's lips lingered over his broad shoulder for a few seconds, her breath caressing his tanned skin.

After inhaling deeply once more, the girl's lips sluggishly moved on their own, absently kissing the young man's skin. If Eli had been aware of what she had just done, she would have rather ran off in the snow, but unfortunately, she was very much unaware, and her cold, needful body had the upper hand on her sleeping mind. Her lips gradually trailed up his neck lasciviously....

_Ace..._

to be continued_  
_

* * *

**Betaed by Iwin Ulose.**

_I like this chapter (a lot) I hope you like it too ;)_


	27. The Cutest Thing

**Chapter 27**  
**The Cutest Thing **

When Eli opened her heavy eyes, she noticed that her surroundings had improved tremendously. She was in a cozy bed big enough for at least four more Elis. The room was large and handsome, the walls held a high ceiling and were made of white stone, partially covered with long curtains and bookcases.

"Hey," Ace greeted softly, giving the waking girl a warm smile.

"Hey..." Eli replied, sluggishly rubbing her eyes. She sat herself up with difficulty. "Where are we ?"

"In the castle.... Give me a minute, I'll be right back." Ace stood up and went out of the room, letting a chilly gust of wind in as he opened the door.

Eli held her aching forehead as she tried to remember how they got here. _Hiking bears... Avalanche... Cavern... _And that was all she could make out from her fuzzy memories. Ace must have taken her to the doctor because of the frostbite. Shuffling her toes and fingers, she was glad to feel them as responsive as before.

A few minutes later, Ace came back holding a tray with a bowl of soup, a chunk of bread, a glass of milk, and some pills. She thanked him and, realizing she felt really hungry, started eating the welcomed meal right away.

"So... fill me in !" Eli commanded, dipping the bread in the soup. "I don't remember a thing."

"But of course." Ace smiled smugly, sitting down on the edge of the bed. "Well, we are in the castle because you needed to see the doctor. Nami is fine now, by the way. Luffy got rid of a bad guy. You kissed me. Ther-"

Eli spit her mouthful of soup right into the young man's freckled face.

"WHAT ?" she yelled bewilderedly.

Ace wiped his smirking face with a napkin. "Luffy got rid-"

"AFTER THAT !"

He turned around, his dark eyes diving into hers silently for a few, yet very long, seconds. Eli's heart started pounding mightily in her chest, a crimson blush making its way to her cheeks under the young man's intense and annoyingly mischievous stare.

"What do you mean, I kissed you ? When ? Where ? How ?" she sputtered, as she couldn't bear it anymore.

Ace laughed childishly. "When we were in the cavern... on the neck... and rather... lustfully...." He leaned forward slowly, his smirk growing wider. "Want me to replay the scene ?"

The girl gawked. How was that even possible, and how could she have forgotten something like that ? No, there was no way it could have happened, he _had _to be joking, there was no other plausible explanation. If anything, his smirking face was solid proof of that.

"That's not funny, Freckles...." As Eli slipped out of the bed, a shiver ran from her toes to her head for she was almost naked. "And where are my clothes !" she asked angrily.

Ace pointed to the fireplace with his thumb, his smirk still stuck on his face. The shivering girl quickly tiptoed through the room toward her clothes, rubbing her arms vigorously.

"And I'm not joking, Eli... You totally came on to me !"

"Came on to you..." The girl huffed. "Nonsense !"

She grabbed her warm trousers and slipped them on quickly. The blissful warmth made her smile, until... she remembered...

Staring at the flames, it all came back like a whirlwind; the campfire, the cold, his chest, his scent, her kisses.... The quick flicker of embarrassing images made her so dizzy that she had to hold onto the wall to keep her balance.

Eli felt so stupid... _Stupid stupid !_ And so ashamed.... She really did come on to her best friend, and now he was making fun of her. She wanted to run and hide somewhere far far away, but she was petrified.... Could she ever look at him again ? The blushing girl closed her eyes tightly to make the images go away from her racing mind.

"Eli ?" Ace called out worriedly.

Hearing his footsteps approaching dangerously, she swung around briskly, making him stop right away.

"I'm okay, haha ! Just felt a little nauseous !" Eli lied, forcing a large smile on her face. Dressing quickly, she carefully avoided Ace's stare. "By the way, even if I _did _kiss you, which I didn't, I was weak and all, so it wouldn't mean anything, haha...."

_Right...?_

"So you _do _remember," he said in an annoyingly playful tone.

"I don't."

"Oh yes you do."

"I DON'T !"

"You d-"

Hearing the bedroom door slamming open, their heads snapped in the direction of a woman whose face looked rather old, but who strangely had the body of a woman in her mid-twenties. She wore a short white shirt and very tight purple pants.

"Eli, this is Doctor Kureha," Ace said.

"So you're alive !" She sneered as she walked over to Eli.

The girl couldn't help but notice that with her wrinkled sneering face, her long nose and her quite devilish grin, she was the perfect picture of a 'witch', and she understood where her nickname came from.

"Your boyfriend was annoyingly worried," the doctor Kureha said, roughly examining Eli's hands and feet.

"Him ?" Eli huffed disdainfully. "He's SO not my boyfriend !" The girl rolled her eyes.

"Whatever...." The woman leaned threateningly toward the girl. "Time to pay now !"

_Pay ?_ Eli remembered Dalton's description of the doctor and how expensive her medical care was. The girl's financial situation wasn't really good. She wondered if she should borrow money from Nami but soon put that option away remembering how the redhead had manipulated Zoro ever since he had dared to make that same terrible mistake.... _Oh !_ Eli grinned, delighted at the mischievous idea that popped in her resentful mind.

She brought her lips to the doctor's ear. "I'll give you one hour alone with our cowboy," she whispered, pointing at a very puzzled Ace with her eyes, and she left the room casually under the woman's loud laugh.

* * *

Searching for the rest of her friends, Eli wandered in the icy castle opening every door that wasn't sealed by the ice on her way. Using her power to speed up the process, it took her only a few seconds to find Nami's bedroom.

"NAMI !" she called out, running happily to her friend's bedside.

"Eli ! You're awake," Vivi said, smiling. "Ace was really worried."

"Yeah yeah..." Eli rolled her eyes. _Worried, really ?_ More like he was impatient to see her wake up to rub her embarrassing behavior in her face. She shook her head rapidly as the heated images came back haunting her painfully. "What about you, Nami ? Are you cured ?"

"Yes, we can go as soon as I convince the doctor to let me go." Nami smiled heartily. She still looked a bit tired, but way healthier. At last, something good to cheer Eli up.

Hearing the bedroom door open, Eli looked over her shoulder, her face reddening as Ace walked in. His smirk was replaced by an annoyed frown.

_Damn ! The doctor should have kept him longer...._

The flustered girl stepped back hesitantly, looking at the angry young man. "Gotta go !" She disappeared with a gust of wind, leaving her slightly puzzled friends behind.

Eli entered the first room whose door she saw, slammed it closed, and leaned against it. A deep sigh escaped her mouth as she slid down onto the cold floor wearily.

_Damn ! Damn !_

Eli ran her trembling fingers nervously through her messy hair and tried to calm her racing heartbeat, breathing slowly. She blamed Ace inwardly. HE was the one to insist on warming her ! HE was the one being so shirtless ! HE was the one who was so blissfully warm... and attractive... _DAMN !_ Eli curled in a tight ball resting her forehead on her knees. As her racing mind kept playing the heated scene, she could almost feel _his _warm lips on her skin... but that couldn't be real. She could easily imagine that it must have been just a real fun experience for him... Having his tomboy friend, the girl he kept calling a 'kid', so ardently inclined toward him.

The mortified girl sighed again to quiet the thousands of butterflies partying in her stomach.

After a minute, as she managed to cool off a bit, Eli slowly raised her heavy head from her knees and became aware that, contrary from what she previously thought, she wasn't alone in the room. The girl's heart skipped a beat when her eyes fell on a little creature, standing stiffly in the middle of the room. He looked like a raccoon, wearing a large, pink, fuzzy top hat. Overall, it was god damn cute.

"Hi...?" Eli ventured, standing up slowly.

The little animal was staring at the girl, stunned on the spot as if his stillness prevented her from noticing him. As she approached cautiously in fear that any brisk movement would scare him off, his eyes started racing from side to side, probably in search for an escape.

"I won't hurt you..." Eli said softly to reassure him while fighting hard her need to hug him outright. "Don't be scared."

"SHUT UP, HUMAN !" he yelled, trembling like a leaf.

_He can...talk... _Eli's eyes started sparkling in amazement._ He can TALK !_

She took another step toward the frightened creature. "I'm Eli... What's your name ?" she asked, smiling heartily.

"Cho- Chopper...." he stammered, taking a shaky step back.

_Oh god..._ Eli bit her bottom lip, trying hard to hold herself back.

"REINDEER !"

Their heads snapped in the direction of Luffy who had just burst into the room, scaring the animal off at once. The pirates exchanged a grin and started running after him.

"Eli ! You're awake !" Luffy said happily, running by Eli's side through the icy castle.

_But just how long have I been sleeping ?_ Eli wondered, as every one of the crewmates she had met seemed to be extremely surprised simply by the fact she was awake....

As they exited a large corridor, they burst into the castle's entrance hall. The pirates spotted Chopper standing in front of the castle's opened gate. A chilly gust of wind made Eli shiver. They ran down the icy staircase. The stairs were so slippery that the two pursuers had to hold onto each other for every step they took to keep their balance.

"REINDEER !" Luffy yelled, waving his arms at Chopper.

It never occurred to him that he should have used only one arm, and he almost fell in the process. Upon regaining his balance, the boy grinned at the little animal.

"Join my crew !"

The idea of having such a cute creature joining the crew made Eli extremely happy. Apparently, though, he put up a fierce resistance to the pushy pirates, fleeing as fast as he could outside of the castle and hiding ineffectively behind a bunch of trees.

"I'll go ahead," Eli warned her captain, speeding up to catch Chopper in her arms. Oh, he was so soft, and warm. "Gotcha !" she said playfully, pinning him onto the snow. The animal struggled violently and managed to escape the girl's embrace, leaving her behind lying in the deep snow.

When he was a few meters away from her, Chopper slowed down and swung around briskly.

"Don't lie in the snow..." he said gravely. "Your body can't withstand the cold."

"You're... worried about... me...?" Eli stood up slowly, gazing at the reindeer. Her lips curled up into a blissful smile. "HOW CUTE !"

"REINDEER !" Luffy yelled, an ear-to-ear grin plastered on his face.

"GYYAAAAAAHH !" Chopper screamed, running away from the pirates, but Eli was way too fast and she easily grabbed his small and fluffy body in her arms once more.

"Come and be a pirate with us !" Luffy repeated earnestly.

Eli smiled at Chopper in acknowledgment, holding him tight until he transformed into a large human-like creature. The girl stared in awe at the new Chopper, her arms wrapped around his neck. She glanced down, as she couldn't feel the ground under her feet anymore, and gawked at his huge height.

"You can... transform..." Eli stammered softly.

A talking reindeer with the ability to transform... Those were more than enough reasons to justify why Luffy wanted him to join. The weirder the crew would get, the happier their young captain would be.

"He has seven different transformations," Luffy said cheerfully to the amazed girl, his eyes sparking like diamonds. "That reindeer is so cool !" The boy shifted his gaze toward Chopper. "Join my crew !"

Chopper shook his head and grabbed Eli to put her down before transforming again; this time, he turned into a complete reindeer form and ran away really fast.

"Maybe he doesn't want to become a pirate," Zoro said. The swordsman was sitting in front of the castle with Usopp.

_Doesn't want to become a pirate...?_

Remorse rose in Eli's mind. She walked over to the swordsman and sat by his side, wrapping her arms around her knees. Maybe Zoro was right... and she wasn't too keen on forcing the poor animal to join if he didn't want to, even if he _was_ the cutest thing she had ever seen.

"How do you know that ?" Luffy argued angrily. "I want to take him with us !"

"That's only your own decision !" Zoro yelled, obviously annoyed by his captain stubbornness. "That doesn't mean he has to follow it !"

"He's right, Luffy...." Eli said sadly.

However, Luffy didn't care for the others' opinions. He kept running around, constantly calling out for the small reindeer.

"HEY REINDEER !" he cried happily, finally spotting the animal standing in front of the castle. "You want to become a pirate with me, right ?"

"That's impossible," Chopper trailed off, staring at his feet.

"Why ? Being a pirate is really fun, you know !" Luffy had a wide grin on his face.

"I really want to..." Chopper said softly, clenching his hooves, "but I'm a reindeer, I have horns and hooves ! And I have a blue nose !" His voice rose to a shout, visible torment in his eyes. "I want to be a pirate, but I'm not human ! I'm a MONSTER !"

He calmed down a bit and looked at his feet again. "Thank you for asking me...." he said softly.

The crew looked speechlessly at the sad reindeer.

"SHUT UP AND COME WITH US !" Luffy yelled, raising his arms in the air.

The pirates gave a smile to the tormented animal. If he was a monster, Eli had to say that he was a damn cute one.

Tears began to stream from Chopper's eyes. "OKAY !"

to be continued

* * *

**Betaed by Iwin Ulose.**

_So you liked the romance heh !__  
Well, too bad, Ace likes annoying Eli even more :P_


	28. Pink Rêverie

**Chapter 28**  
**Pink Rêverie**

"The reindeer is a doctor ?" Luffy asked, almost yelling at the surprising information.

"You didn't know that ?" Nami looked kind of puzzled. "Why did you want him to join so much then ?"

"Cause he's a talking reindeer, and he has seven different transformations !" The captain grinned.

"And he's cute," Eli added, raising a finger. That was an important fact to take into account, after all.

However, being a doctor was really the cherry on the cake. Once more, Luffy's sixth-sense hadn't failed him, and thanks to this new crew member, the pirates could now sail through the Grand Line without fearing for their health. Eli couldn't wait to spend some time with the cute little doctor. She smiled, blowing in her cold hands to warm them up.

"Eli ?"

"AH !" The sudden interruption of her trail of thought made the girl jump.

"Are you cold ? Want me to warm you up ?"

Eli swung around frowning angrily at a heavily smirking Ace. Why was he still bothering her ? Didn't he get enough already ? The young man started laughing childishly seeing her blushing. Glaring at him, she tried to think of something to say, but it seemed that her sense of repartee was completely overwhelmed by her shame, so she did what she _could _do and started kicking snow at him furiously.

"SNOW FIGHT !" Luffy yelled happily, and without wasting a second, prepared some ammo and launched them at his very much off-guard crew.

Usopp soon joined the 'fight', effectively shooting his snowballs into the middle of the pirates' faces. But Eli didn't care for the two boys' attacks; her sole and very annoying target was Ace and his self-satisfied freckled face. In a split second, she managed to make hundreds of balls and launch them light-speed aiming for his face. However, like always, her aim was terrible.... Most of her attacks resulted in utter failure and for the few that were actually about to hit, they ended up melting before reaching their burning target.

_Frak !_

Ace's never-fading smirk only grew wider as he got closer to the stormy girl.

_Abort ! Abort !_ warned her internal alarm.

Eli ran away with all haste behind a bunch of trees and decided to stay there until Chopper had finished saying his goodbyes to the doctor Kureha.

_Dumbass !_ Eli angrily kicked an innocent rock and winced at the pain she had stupidly inflicted upon herself.

Hearing footsteps in the snow behind her, Eli glared over her shoulder. The girl wanted some privacy, and apparently that notion was completely alien to her pirate friends.

"PLEASE ! Leave me alone !" she snarled, seeing Ace walking toward her. "I'm sorry, okay ? But please STOP bothering me about... 'the thing'...."

"...Okay," Ace said simply, still walking over to her.

_Okay ? That's it ? _Eli narrowed her eyes trying to figure out if he was seriously granting her a truce. Did he finally get enough ?

"Will you forget... the... 'thing'....?" she asked hesitantly, staring at her apparently much more interesting feet.

"That's not what you asked for." Ace sighed, sitting on the previously attacked rock. "But I can stop mentioning it."

Well, that was already something, and Eli decided that it was enough. As long as he'd stop mentioning 'the thing', she could forget it, or at least try to. Right now, though, his sole presence was still too strong a reminder... and she couldn't just run away again; she had to be strong and fight her shame. Their precious friendship was at stake.

"So... at last we've got a doctor...." Eli said, folding her arms and carefully averting his gaze.

Ace smiled, manifestly completely aware of her endeavor to avoid the awkward subject.

"Yup."

"The crew is starting to look like something."

"Yup," Ace said smugly, apparently holding back a laugh at her pitiful attempts at a semblance of casual conversation.

"Oh come on, you're not helping here !" Eli rolled her eyes annoyingly.

The young man laughed childishly. "Can't help it, you're too damn cute when you're embarrassed !"

Eli frowned. He was once more playing with her. Treating her like a stupid child. For once, he had the upper hand, and he was taking advantage of the situation to the fullest. There was nothing the poor mortified girl could do except wait... or punch him maybe.... At least that would satisfy her need for revenge. As Eli motioned to do so, she was interrupted by loud screams coming from the castle.

"Let's go !" Ace hopped off the rock, giving her a hearty smile.

_Could you be any happier...?_ Eli sighed, walking toward her crewmates.

* * *

As the doctor Kureha chased Chopper while hurling dozens of random weapons frantically, the departure from the snow island was rather hurried.

"EVERYONE HOP ON !" Chopper yelled on the top of his lungs, running toward the pirates and pulling a sledge so that the crew could escape the doctor's frenzy.

Hopping on the sledge like their new mate had ordered them to was an utter leap of faith. How would they manage to go down the mountain on that thing ? Dashing after the sledge, Eli hoped inwardly that Chopper wasn't planning on jumping off the mountain, for she was pretty much sure that she wouldn't survive such a fall.

Thanks to her speed, Eli was the first one on board. Looking back, she saw that Vivi was having difficulties dragging an unconscious Sanji behind her. Why he was unconscious was a total mystery to the girl, but now wasn't the time to worry about that. Eli winced, reaching out to grab the cook's scarf and jerk him into the sledge roughly. Her eyes widened hearing strangled noise coming from his mouth. _Errr... _She rushed to loosen his scarf and let out a sigh of relief seeing him breathing normally.

As the very heavy Ace and Zoro jumped on the sledge with a loud thud, the vehicle tipped up violently, almost throwing the very light and very grip-less Eli right off.

"AAhhaaAHaahhAAHH" she yelled, moving her arms in a circular motion to keep her balance. Eli's eyes filled up with fright as she felt her body slowly falling backwards. Thankfully, Zoro grabbed her just in time. The girl quickly clutched the edge of the sledge, sitting down on the still unconscious Sanji.

"Luffy !" Usopp cried out, dashing frantically behind the sledge and reaching out for the boy's hand. Stretching his arm, Luffy grabbed the marksman's hand just barely in time. He was now flying frantically behind the vehicle, crying out in both fear and exhilaration.

The whole crew was approximately on the sledge when Chopper reached the edge of the cliff... and to their surprise, they started sliding down a rope. Looking back, Eli distinguished a cable car on the top of the mountain. It explained how the people of this country managed to reach the castle.

Sliding at a much more enjoyable speed, it felt like they were flying through the sky under the full moon. The beauty of the scenery made the pirates smile happily. Eli silently wallowed in the magical ride.

Upon landing roughly on the snow, a short squeak escaped Eli's mouth.

"YAHOOO !" Luffy whooped enthusiastically. "That was so cool ! Let's do it again !"

"Are you insane ?" Nami yelled, hitting him on the head.

Eli grinned. She was totally agreeing with her captain, yet she kept that to herself as she didn't want to anger Nami any more. Looking around to check for her other crewmates, she saw Usopp trembling like a leaf, nervously gripping the sledge.

"...I thought I was gonna die..." he muttered in shock.

Feeling Sanji move under them, Vivi and Eli shifted their gazes toward him. The cook cracked his eyes open and brought his hand to his forehead. The girls stood up cautiously to give him some air.

"Where am I ?" he asked, sitting up groggily.

"On a sledge," Vivi answered. "We're going back to the Merry."

The ride was now pretty much calm and slow enough for everyone to sit comfortably. Eli admired the scenery once more as to keep a mental snapshot, for they would soon be leaving this lovely snow island behind.

Suddenly, the girl was snapped out of her reverie by the loud sounds of cannon fire behind her. Was the doctor Kureha resorting to heavier weapons ? Looking over her shoulder, Eli's jaw almost dropped to the floor at the most amazing and stunning sight she had ever witnessed.

"WOW," Luffy uttered in awe. "That's so cool...."

Chopper slowed down to a stop and shrunk to his tiny form, walking behind the sledge with his gaze focused on the sky. The pirates soon joined him, equally hypnotized by the amazing sight.

A vast pink haze was covering the top of the taller mountain, making it look like a giant cherry tree abloom.

"It's so beautiful...." Nami breathed, smiling as blissfully as the rest of the crew.

As for the new recruit, an endless flow of tears streamed from his eyes. "Doc.. Doctorine..." Chopper muttered between whines.

* * *

"This is the most wonderful thing I have ever seen...." Eli whispered, drawing the bewitching sight a dozen times as she wanted to capture this ravishing moment perfectly.

Chopper was sitting on the railing next to her, silently watching the island slowly shrinking.

"Eli ! Chopper !" Usopp called out. "How long are you going to stay there ? Come here and drink with us !"

"Give me a minute...." Eli said softly, deeply focused on her task, her eyes shifting rapidly back and forth between cherry tree and her book.

She was interrupted by Ace who gently grabbed her hurried hand. "Come on," he said, smiling warmly. "If you continue, you won't have anymore pages for the rest of the adventure."

After putting the finishing touches to her drawing, Eli sighed happily, closed her book, and sat next to her friends.

"I never thought I'd see a cherry tree abloom in this winter empire," Sanji said.

"That's right ! We need to get drunk tonight !" Zoro happily poured sake in the cook's glass.

Eli smiled gladly seeing the two rivals acting so close-knit for once. Sanji had prepared fabulous appetizers, just as beautiful as they were delicious. The girl hastened to eat her share before Luffy had the chance to devour everything. Noticing the bottle of her favorite liqueur, she poured herself a large drink and proposed a toast to her crewmates.

"To this wonderful night !" she said cheerily, raising her glass.

"Wait a minute !" Nami yelled. "Just shut up and look over there." She pointed at Caru who was shivering and whining in Vivi's arms.

"Why did you jump in this freezing water ?" Vivi asked worriedly, rubbing the poor frozen duck.

Eli opened her mouth to say something to Ace so that he'd use his 'ability' to warm the animal, but she was interrupted by Caru quacking loudly.

"What an idiot !" Zoro mocked. "Maybe he accidentally fell into the water."

"He said that he saw Zoro jump into the water and disappear," Chopper translated. "He thought that Zoro was in danger so he jumped in after him to try to save him...."

_Ohhhh..._ Eli stared at Chopper in awe.

"So it was all because of YOU !" Nami scolded harshly, hitting the swordsman behind the head. Apparently, the redhead had quickly regained her strength much to the dismay of the male crewmember.

"Chopper, you can understand Caru's language ?" Vivi asked.

The reindeer jumped off the railing while holding his hat. "I used to be an animal, so I understand their language," he explained casually.

"That's so great !" Eli chuckled, already picturing all the situations where this ability could be useful... for her.

Ace laughed loudly, apparently aware of the girl's inner fantasy.

"Not only do you know about medicine, but you also have other talents," Nami complimented happily, giving Chopper a large smile.

Apparently, the compliments stunned him for a few seconds until he started wriggling like a worm. "Shut up, idiot ! This is not making me happy~ !" Chopper said, smiling stupidly.

"Awwwww..." Eli jumped to hug the embarrassed reindeer. "You're so cute !" she cried, rubbing her cheek on his soft fur.

Hearing him laugh sheepishly, she leaned back and offered him to taste her drink.

"What is it ?" Chopper asked, looking questioningly at the translucent liquid.

"Litchi !" Eli said cheerfully. "Go ahead and try it, it's delicious !"

"And dangerous...." Ace added, smirking.

Eli huffed. "Don't listen to him !" She glared at the young man. How dare he speak ill of litchi ?

Chopper sniffed the liqueur carefully. "Smells good...." he whispered, and took a large gulp. And another, and another... until he finished the whole glass. When he rose his face from the now empty glass, his eyes were hazy, and he soon started to giggle goofily.

Ace and Eli burst into laughter seeing the previously shy animal sticking straws in his nose and mouth before joining Luffy and Usopp's ridiculous dance.

* * *

Two hours later, the celebration lit by the pink light of the full moon piercing through the rosy haze went on without fading.

Zoro and Sanji were fighting because the swordsman had _dared _order more food from the cook. Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper were singing pirates' songs rather unintelligibly under the rest of the crew's goofy laughs.

When Ace fell asleep on Vivi, making her squeak at the surprise, Sanji stood up briskly and sent him flying with a swift kick.

"Arrrrre yo -hic- youu alllriite purriincess ?" the flirty cook slurred, taking Vivi's hands in his.

Eli giggled, walking bouncily to Ace's sleeping body. Searching through her bag, she started growling as she couldn't find what she was looking for. The tipsy girl glared at her evil bag and spilled its contents on the floor.

"AHAH !" She grinned, finally finding what she was looking for... a marker.

Eli smirked leaning forward, and started drawing paws in Ace's hands. She stuck her tongue out of the corner of her mouth as if it helped her gain dexterity.

Moving on to his sleeping face, Eli gazed at his lovely freckles. "I really wish I had some of those...." she said quietly, drawing whiskers on Ace's cheeks.

The prankster didn't look very surprised when the previously sleeping victim grabbed her wrist. Instead, she laughed foolishly.

"You drew on me," Ace said, looking deep into her hazy eyes.

"I did." She giggled.

Ace sat up slowly, and ran his fingers through his raven hair.

"... You're drunk."

"I am," Eli said, sticking the tip of her tongue out playfully.

The young man took the marker from her hand and started drawing freckles on her rosy cheeks.

"You smell like litchi...." Ace said quietly, focusing on her cheeks.

"I do." Eli grinned.

to be continued

**

* * *

Betaed by Iwin Ulose.**

Mhh litchi...

Nothing much to say, except that I particularly like this chapter. And Like always I hope you do too.  
Please tell me, your reviews make my day :)

I know that some of you (all of you ?) are quite impatient to have more romantic scenes between our lovely couple, and I hope you're not too disappointed but I like the waiting and the awkward moments so much that it will go on for a while :)

See you soon~


	29. Déjà Vu

**Chapter 29  
Déjà Vu **

When Eli walked into the lounge room, she didn't look very surprised to be welcomed by Sanji wearing a large penguin costume. He gave her a warm mug of tea, and she went to her seat at the kitchen table. Across from her, Luffy, disguised as a monkey, was gobbling a large amount of bananas, and Usopp was sitting next to him wearing a duck outfit.

"Good morning," Nami greeted with a smile. She was dressed up as a sexy cat, and behind her, Vivi joined in wearing a blue pony costume.

Seeing Sanji hobbling around to serve breakfast, Eli stood up. "I'll go warn the others," she said happily.

She found Zoro on the upper deck training intensively but with difficulty since his caterpillar costume restricted his movements.

"Breakfast is ready," Eli informed him.

Zoro grumbled putting his weights down and followed the girl to the kitchen. Seeing Chopper on her way, Eli couldn't resist jumping on him and hugging him tightly.

"You're so soft..." she whispered happily.

However, when she raised her head, Eli realized that she was in Ace's arms. He was disguised as a tiger and looking at her with a large smirk on his face.

"Roarrr..."

_Oh, god..._

Eli woke up at once, sweating and panting heavily. She sat up briskly and ran fingers through her messy hair. After a minute to gather herself, the girl couldn't quite shake the cuteness of the crew in their animal costumes off her mind. She wondered if there could be any circumstance in which they'd actually agree into disguising themselves like that.

_They were all so cute..._ she thought longingly.

Eli tiptoed out of the bedroom and through the storage room, efficiently avoiding all the obstacles in her way thanks to the guiding rope she had installed a few weeks ago. Once outside, she took a large intake of fresh air, rolling her head upward to gaze at the clear night sky... but soon the welcomed freshness reminded her that she was scantily clad and goosebumps quickly covered her skin.

Rubbing her arms furiously, she dashed into the kitchen and firmly closed the door behind her.

"What are you doing ?"

"Ace ?" Eli breathed, surprised to find out she wasn't the only one still awake at this late hour. "I was going to drink some milk." She walked to the refrigerator. "Want some...?"

_Sounds like déjà vu...

* * *

_

_"What are you doing ?"_

_Eli narrowed her eyes. "Ace ?" She could barely recognize the boy's shadow in the darkness. "I woke up, and I was going to drink some milk, want some ?"_

_"No thanks," he replied, getting closer to the girl._

_Eli opened the door of the refrigerator, picked the bottle of fresh milk, and filled herself a large glass. As she sipped her drink she glanced at the boy standing silently next to her._

_"Are you okay ?" she asked, a bit worried by his silence._

_Ace nodded, but his expression contradicted him._

He must be scared about tomorrow_, she thought, walking to the sink to rinse her glass._

_"Hey, you should get wasted, Freckles !" Eli grinned. "That's what pirates do, right ?"_

_She reached for a bottle of her favorite liqueur hidden above the cupboard, picked two small glasses, and went to sit in the middle of the living room. Ace followed her silently._

_Eli served him a glass and handed it with a wide grin. "Here you go !"_

_The boy looked at the glass absently._

Come on, Ace, cheer up_, Eli thought, pouring the sweet nectar in her own glass._

_As she raised it to him cheerfully, he mimicked her and they gulped down the fiery liquid at the same time._

_It didn't take more than half a dozen litchi shots for Eli to be affected by the alcohol. On the other hand, Ace seemed really sober and still depressed. The tipsy girl was telling jokes about pirates, and imaging the boy's future adventurous life, trying her best to cheer him up, fruitlessly._

_After a while, Eli's growing laughing fit, and particularly the convulsions that went with it, made her spill the bottle on the floor. "Okay, you'll be the barman now," she said, wiping the tears in the corners of her eyes._

_She was still giggling when he started moving toward her on his hands and knees. Eli didn't notice how close he was, nor did she see how heated his eyes were. Her wake-up call was his hardness pressed against her thigh sending shivers through her veins. Ace slowly lifted his hand to her face, and brushed his thumb gently against her warm lips, his dark, half-lidded eyes diving into hers._

_Feeling temperature rising between her legs, Eli bit her bottom lip nervously._

_He was going to kiss her, of that she was certain, and that couldn't be happening. Kisses are for lovers, and she had no right to be loved, and to love even less._

_"... You can't kiss me, Ace," she said, taking a hold of his wrist._

_Hearing those words, the boy's lust apparently weakened. His previously heated eyes were now offensively staring at the object of his desire._

_Gazing at him, she brought her hand to her chest as if to calm her erratic heartbeat. He was really attractive... She had always thought he was, but he was her friend, and he was quite popular among the girls... Eli never thought he'd ever look at her with desire in his eyes._

_After all, she was so plain, so tall, and so skinny. To sum it up, she had nothing to deserve his arousal toward her. The alcohol and his impending departure must have been the trigger for his desire. Not really flattering... yet at that moment she didn't care, and Eli wanted him... She wanted him so much, she felt her insides burning and twisting painfully._

_Her trembling hand still curled around his wrist, she stood up slowly and pulled him through the corridor and inside her bedroom without saying a word._

_"I... I don't understand..." he stammered, looking around questioningly._

_Eli closed the door quietly. "You just lust for me, Ace..." The nervous girl took a deep breath. It was hard to talk through her tightened throat... "If you want, we can... do it." She turned around to face him. "But we'll skip the romantic act."_

* * *

_NONONONO !_ Eli shook her head repeatedly to clear it of the memory she had carefully sealed away years ago.

The troubled girl sighed thinking how stupid they were back then. _Stupid, hormone-driven kids..._ Yet somehow, Eli felt she hadn't grown up that much, and the cavern incident was a clear example of that...

"Why don't you ever wear a shirt ?" she snarled, annoyed to be forced to face his appealing bare chest at a time like this.

Ace turned his head to face her, raising an eyebrow. "And why don't you ever wear trousers ?" he countered sharply.

"What ?" Eli looked down to observe her clothes. She was wearing her usual sleeping outfit; a rather large and short white t-shirt. Did he actually care...? "It's not like I wear nothing under, though..." she said, rolling her eyes.

"..." Ace silently stared into space.

"Oh, god..." Eli's eyes widened. "You're totally picturing it, aren't you ?"

Eli marched over to him and poked her finger repeatedly in his ribs. "Shigan ! Shigan !" It elicited nervous laughs from the young man. Fortunately, thanks to his laughs and soon hers, the tension lightened. After a while, Eli finally stopped torturing her victim. She served herself a glass of fresh milk and sat next to him on the table's bench.

"What's a 'shigan' ?" Ace asked, resting his chin on the palm of his hand.

"That's a very good question, my dear Freckles." Eli grinned. "It is one of the six techniques of a _secret _and _deadly _martial art from my country," she said proudly.

"Deadly ?" Ace questioned smugly. "Didn't seem really deadly to me."

Eli huffed. "It's because I never learned it," she pouted. "Girls weren't allowed to learn... Even though my father was a Master of this art..."

"Really ?" The young man smiled heartily. "Tell me about him."

Despite of the time they had spent together, Eli had never shared anything but some superficial facts about her past. Not that she wanted to hide anything, but the subject never really came up.

It felt so good to speak about her father. Eli proudly told Ace that he was one of the few Masters of Rokushiki. It meant that during his time, he was a guardian of the teaching of this martial art. His duty was to train the more advanced students, and he also had to complete researches to improve the six techniques.

Since he had a girl, he couldn't pass on his knowledge to his daughter... Eli explained regretfully, but that didn't keep them from being really close. They used to spend nights stargazing. It was him who taught her the names of the stars and constellations. The girl's voice was filled with emotion and love as she remembered the good times spent with her beloved father. Ace listened attentively as she told him about casual things like the litchi orchard behind their house, their happy days spent at the beach, and how he always tucked her in bed at night, telling her legends of their country...

"I really miss him." Eli sighed staring into space for a few seconds before shifting her gaze to him. "What about _your _father, Freckles ?"

"My father..." Ace said quietly.

She looked at him questioningly as he rolled his head upwards inhaling deeply, and exhaling slowly.

_Heh ? _Watching him gathering himself, Eli wondered if she had brought up a sensitive subject.

Eli cleared her throat. "It's okay if you don't want to tell me..."

"No it's okay, I want to tell you." Ace shifted one of his legs over the bench. Straddling it, he slid slightly closer to the puzzled girl and fixed his dark eyes onto hers. "My father is-"

"ACE ! ELI !"

The sudden interruption of the intense moment startled the pair so violently that loud squeaks of surprise escaped their mouths.

"Luffy..." Eli breathed, a hand on her racing heart, watching her captain and Usopp walk to the refrigerator.

"Heyh leksh plhay Pirakh Khngh" Luffy said, his mouth full.

"What ?" Usopp asked.

"He said 'Hey, let's play Pirate King'," Ace translated.

Eli was amazed at the young man's ability to understand his little brother despite of how much food he had in his mouth.

"I'm not sure..." Eli sighed deeply, resting her chin in her hands. "Luffy always wins, it's not really fun anymore..."

"Gatsh nohk kuuuhh ! Piihj piiiijhh leksh phaayyhh !"

Usopp and Eli looked at Ace tilting their heads questioningly.

"That's not true. Please please, let's play," Ace translated dully, taking his share of food.

"And what about another game ?" Eli proposed, smiling cheerfully.

"Ah gonhk wannkh agh ojerh guhmm ah wank Pirakh Khnngh..."

"I don't want another game, I want Pirate King."

"Yeah... I could have guessed that one..." Eli sighed.

* * *

After explaining the rules to Usopp, the four of them took position. Ace was paired with Eli and Usopp with Luffy. Like always, Eli put her foot on Ace's thigh and they started playing Pirate King.

In spite of her previous lack of motivation for the game, Eli was dead serious and ready to take her revenge once and for all. She had warned Ace that if she happened to lose because of him, she would make him pay, painfully. Which, of course, only made the young man laugh.

During the game, Luffy and Eli were extremely focused, an unnatural behavior that earned them mocking faces from Usopp and Ace, but they didn't care. The girl was prepared to resort to any means possible to win this game, and when Ace inadvertently gave her the wrong card, in spite of her very clear foot tapping, she glared at him with pure hatred in her eyes and kicked his knee. He must have found her reaction highly comical since he slammed his hand on his mouth, apparently holding back a laugh. Annoyed, Eli rolled her eyes and quickly refocused on the game until... she felt his warm hand slipping from her foot up her leg.

"WHAT THE HELL !" she yelled, jumping back on the floor.

"Eli eliminated," Luffy announced on the spot.

Ace howled with laughter watching the bewildered girl scrambling away, a crimson blush all over her face.

"Ace eliminated."

"What-"

"Usopp eliminated," Luffy said. "Woo I won !" He raised his arms up in the air happily. "This one was easy."

"MORON !" Eli dashed toward Ace and kicked him violently off the bench.

Yet that didn't kill the young man's laughing fit. On the contrary, he was now on the floor holding his stomach, tears in the corners of his eyes, under Usopp's questioning gaze.

"What happened ?" Usopp asked, a bit curious at the girl's sudden fit of rage.

_You're so dead, Portgas.._. Eli clenched her fists looking at him with blood lust in her eyes...

"Hey Eli, can you run on water ?"

_Heh ?_ She blinked.

"Run on... water...?" Eli repeated slowly, looking at Luffy while still a bit dazed by her fit of anger. "Where did you get that idea ?"

"Dunno, I thought it'd be cool," Luffy said, before choking himself trying to swallow a large piece of meat whole. Sanji's wrath would undoubtedly be upon him in the morning for stealing from his refrigerator once again.

_Running on water... _Eli quickly studied the involvements of such an experiment in her mind. If it failed, it could be quite dangerous for her, but if it succeeded... Eli smirked.

_It would be frakingly awesome !_

"Okay !" Eli said, all pumped up. "Let's do it !" She turned to face her brilliant captain. "I suppose it is your wish to accompany me, Pirate King ?" she said, bowing slightly.

"Damn right !" Luffy grinned, shooting his fist and the piece of meat it contained into the air.

Ace cleared his throat. "And what if-"

"Hush !" Eli slammed her hand on his mouth, smirking. "You lost your prerogative to talk, jackass."

* * *

They waited for the morning to ensure their safety in case of failure. Under the whole crew's stares, Eli equipped herself with gumboots and tied Luffy's rubbery limbs around her. The boy was heavier than the last time she had carried him. She hoped that it would not compromise the experiment.

"Ready ?" Eli asked.

"Yeah !"

Without wasting one more second, she dashed off the Merry and onto the sea at her full speed.

_Woah..._ Looking down, Eli watched with amazement as her feet skimmed smoothly on the water._ It works... It actually works...!_

It was so simple, yet she had never even thought of it. Luffy was really a genius for this kind of thing.

Running around the ship to stay close in case of drowning, Eli slowed down a bit since it seemed she didn't need to go all out. She smiled, hearing Usopp and Chopper whooping in awe. But the one that sounded the most amazed was Luffy, his cries of utter joy and excitement almost deafening her.

Eli felt so confident that she gradually drew away from the Merry.

"COME BACK !" Ace yelled out.

And just to contradict him, Eli stubbornly ran further away. It was so great... Running so freely on the open sea... Eli thanked Luffy inwardly for his great idea. However, after a few minutes, weariness began to diffuse upon her legs, and breathing was becoming harder, so she pulled a U-turn and soon reached the Merry and its worried crew.

"Uh... oh..." Eli muttered, running around the ship.

"What ?" Luffy asked.

"How do... we... get on...?" she asked between pants.

"Oh..." The boy made a series of thinking sounds while Eli's racing pace kept slowing down threateningly. "I have no idea !" Luffy finally said, and quite proudly at that.

_Great..._

Luffy could have easily caught the railing if his arms weren't tied around the girl's body... _Damn !_ Eli took a mental note to remember about that the next time...

She gritted her teeth, feeling her feet starting to dip in the water as her strength left her.

"Sorry... Luffy... we're.. going... down..."

"SAVE US !" Luffy yelled before sinking in the sea...

to be continued

* * *

**Betaed by Iwin Ulose.**

_That was fun, wasn't it ? :)  
"Roarrr"_

_For those who think that I made a mistake saying that Rokushiki was reserved to men since Califa can use it, well don't worry. I didn't ;)  
_

_Oh and for the ones who haven't read it yet, I published the second chapter of 'Twig'.  
And I would really appreciate to read your comments about it._

_See ya~  
_


	30. The Last Log

**Chapter 30  
The Last Log**

**First Day **

**Weather : Clear blue sky, and smooth sea.****  
****Mood : Angry **

**This morning, Sanji announced to us that Luffy (probably with the help of some accomplices) raided the food supplies last night.****  
****There is nothing left, and Vivi can't tell us when we'll reach Alabasta. **

**For all I know, we might all die... **

**So, to whoever finds this book :****  
****BUY A LOCK FOR YOUR REFRIGERATOR ! **

"Tell me how the food I saved up until we'd reach Alabasta has disappeared in the middle of the night, Luffy ?" Sanji asked, looking at the young captain with accusing eyes.

"I don't see what you're talking about," Luffy replied hesitantly, looking away and sweating heavily.

The boy couldn't lie, that was a fact. He never could. No matter how threatening his interrogator might be, he just couldn't look at them straight in the eyes and lie. That was... cute, yet dangerous, especially for him.

"Hey !" Sanji's eyes narrowed as he bent to look at Luffy's face closer. "There's something around your mouth !"

"Crap, leftovers !" Luffy sputtered, wiping his face frantically.

"IT WAS YOU !" The angry cook kicked Luffy hard enough to send him flying on the other side of the ship.

When Eli walked slowly to her young captain still lying on the floor. Ace was already giving him a lecture with the black eyebrows' angry frown just like when he was a kid. Who could guess, seeing them like that, that the little and sheepish one was actually the captain...

"Luffy ?" Eli called out softly. "Is it true ? Did you eat all the food ?"

The boy evaded her inquisitive gaze.

"Luffy..." She crouched down next to him. "How could you... raid the fridge... entirely... without ME !" Her voice rose into a shout as she stretched the boy's cheeks as far apart as she could.

"Sorry..." the boy said, embarrassed.

Eli sighed heavily and sat next to the boy. "I'd better start saving up my stamina... You know, you're really pushing your luck with poor Sanji. First, he has to save us from the water, and now this..." She glared at him and slapped him on the head. "Glutton..."

* * *

**Second Day **

**Weather : Clear, boring, blue sky.****  
****Mood : Hungry. **

**The only sounds heard are the growls from our empty stomachs.****  
****Our captain has eaten the all of our bait, so the thin chances to catch a fish are now reduced to smithereens. **

**The need to kick Luffy's rubbery ass is hard to fight...**

"Ace is asleep !" Luffy cried out, running toward Usopp, Chopper, and Eli.

Usopp and Eli smirked mischievously, but Chopper looked a bit confused. After all, what was so exciting about a narcoleptic asleep ? He was new to the crew and didn't know all theirs habits and customs yet, so the pranksters explained to the little doctor that whenever Ace fell asleep, and they were _really _bored, they would change his sleeping location just to see his confused look when he woke up.

"Where do we take him this time ?" Usopp asked, grabbing Ace's arm.

Once Eli grabbed his other arm and Luffy his legs, they slowly lifted his heavy body off the floor and Chopper dashed under to support his dropping head.

"Bathtub done... Refrigerator done... Head in the cannon done..." Eli listed thoughtfully.

"We could do the railing once more," Luffy proposed, carefully stepping down the stairs. "That was fun !"

"Not sure..." Usopp said.

_Yeah... probably not a good idea... _Last time, he rolled during his sleep and Zoro had to fish him out, and then the three of them had to endure a painful lecture from Nami... _Oh ! _Eli's lips curled up into a small and wicked smirk.

"What about..." Eli began, waiting to get the boys' attention, "Nami's bed !"

After tucking Ace into the redhead's bed, the four pranksters hid up the stairs. Watching the sleeping young man, they couldn't help but giggle seeing him hugging and drooling on Nami's pillow, until... they heard someone clearing their throat above them.

"Oh, hi Nami," Eli said casually. "What's up ?"

* * *

"Yo."

Eli raised her head from her book and watched as Ace jumped into the crow's nest to join her.

"Hey Freckles," the chronicler said monotonously, returning her attention to her book. "Did you sleep well ?"

"As a matter of fact, I did." He sat close to her, awfully close, actually. "What are you doing ?"

"Oh, gosh... I have no idea..." She sounded slightly annoyed, while shifting a bit further to create distance between them. "But, I _do _have my book and I _do _hold a pen..."

Ace smirked, his eyes lit with amusement. He suddenly grabbed her waist and pulled her against his chest.

Eli sighed. She was starting to get used to it by now. Apparently, one of his new games to annoy the hell out of her since the cavern incident was to make physical contact, like... all the time, and it was always a complete success. The harassed girl couldn't wait to be in Alabasta to have some more space than the little Merry had to offer... and not to mention to EAT. But until then, she had to endure Ace's new pastime.

Being the really mature and composed girl she was... Okay, no one would believe that. Truth was, Eli was tired, and apparently the kicking, the yelling, the punching, the glaring, the threatening, the hiding... only seemed to encourage the young man to keep on with this little torture of his. Instead, she decided to try another approach this time... the I-don't-feel-a-thing-take-that-in-your-face-sucker... ing.

Eli concentrated on her breathing, closing her eyes to make her mind go blank. She pictured the air slowly traveling from her nose to her lungs and back again. And it worked... kinda. She could almost set aside his gentle warmth, his breath caressing her skin, his broad arms now wrapped around her waist... Almost...

Try as she might, though, the images of their stupid night together started flickering in her mind...

That wasn't fair ! Even if that night was long forgotten for him, it didn't mean that was the case for her as well. And playing with her friend like that was just... wrong. Ace could probably have all the girls he wanted, yet he teased _her_... his friend, even though he knew how important this friendship was to her.

"Why are you doing this...?" Eli asked quietly, her blushing face drooped.

Ace tightened his warm embrace a little bit more. "Oh, gosh... I have no idea..."

* * *

**Third Day**

**Weather : Same as before...****  
****Mood : Empty.**

**A strange man came to release us from boredom today...**

Eli was lying on the deck gazing lazily at the sky above her. She was so empty that her stomach couldn't growl anymore. The weary girl slowly rolled onto her side to watch Luffy and Usopp fishing, using Caru as bait.

"Anything, guys ?"

They shook their heads in dismay.

"Hey, is that cotton candy ?" Luffy asked, looking in the direction the boat was heading.

_Cotton candy ? _Eli weakly lifted herself up using her arms for support. There was a large curtain of smoke not too far from the ship, clearly not cotton candy... Disappointed, she let herself fall on her back.

"It's just steam," Nami explained. "Magma from underwater volcanoes must be coming out down below us. In several thousand years, there will be a new island."

The crew smiled happily at the idea of the birth of a new island. As they entered the smoke, they covered their noses and mouths on the spot. It smelled like sulfur, not to mention it was really hot, too. Once they got out of the steam, they inhaled the clean air frenetically.

"Hey !" Luffy and Usopp yelled in unison. "We caught a drag queen !"

_A drag queen ?_ Eli crawled to the railing.

A man was hanging on the boys' bait, a.k.a. Caru. This must have been a shock for him since he let go of the big duck and fell back in the ocean with a loud, high-pitched scream.

* * *

"Thank you very much." The drag queen bowed politely before the crew. "You saved my life and I won't forget that !"

He was a bit taller than Eli and wore the strangest outfit: ballerina pumps, a blue shirt, and an extremely round blue pair of shorts. He also had a pink overcoat with two big swans attached on his back and heavy makeup on his face. Over all, it was quite comical.

"Well, aren't you just a cutie," the man said, winking naughtily at a quite disgusted Vivi.

"Hehe." Luffy grinned. "You can't swim either."

"Yes, I ate a devil fruit." The drag queen smiled proudly.

Usopp looked surprised. "Really ? What kind ?"

"Well, I have to wait for my ship to come and pick me up..." the man began, "sooooo I might as well put on a show !"

Without further warning, he struck Luffy's face forcefully with the palm of his hand. "LUFFY !" the pirates yelled, watching their captain fly across the ship. They jumped up taking fighting stances at once.

"Wait ! Waiiit !" the man said with an awfully familiar voice. "This is my show !"

When he gracefully turned around, the pirates gawked seeing the showman's face. Well it wasn't _his _face anymore... it was Luffy's.

"Surprised ? Surprised ?" The Luffy-man laughed, dancing around. "This is the power of my Mane Mane Fruit."

Then he touched Usopp, Eli, Zoro, Chopper, and Nami's faces with his right hand. He would probably have touched the entire crew's if the rest of them weren't observing the scene attentively from upstairs.

"If I touch your face..." Bringing his hand to his face, it changed to Usopp's. "...with my right hand..." Then Eli's, "I can imitate anyone." Zoro's, "Just like this !" and Chopper's.

And finally Nami's. "And your bodies, too !" He opened his shirt revealing an eyeful of the navigator's huge breasts, earning a gasp from the crew, especially the male ones. Eli, on the other side, was completely shocked. She whirled to look at Nami with wide watery eyes and started scrambling toward the redhead mumbling unintelligible words.

Nami frowned angrily and jolted the showman on the head. "Stop THAT !"

But Luffy, Chopper, and Usopp wanted more and begged him to continue his show while Eli curled into a tight ball in a corner of the ship, still mumbling and whimpering.

"Veeeeeeeeeeery weeeeeeell !" The man beamed proudly, swirling on his toe. "I've also got a perfect memory." He changed his face into several different strangers' appearances.

"So coooooool !" Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper clapped their hands and started singing and dancing with him as if they were best friends. "Stoooop joking aroooouuund ! Stoooooop joking arooooouuuund !"

"Hey, there's a ship !" Nami looked more than happy spotting a ship coming their way. "Is it yours ?"

The drag queen jumped gracefully onto the railing on the spot. "It is already time for me to go !" he said solemnly.

"Awwww..." The boys started crying.

"Do not be sad, my friends ! I shall never forget you !" Before leaving, he looked back with tears in the corners of his heavily made up eyes and a wide grin on his face. "Time means nothing to true friendship."

The boys waved their friend good-bye, tears of emotion in their eyes.

He gave them the thumbs up, and jumped on his ship. "Let's go, lovies !"

"Yes, sir ! Mr. 2 Bon Clay, sir !"

The pirates gawked looking back at the already too far ship. They had an officer agent of Baroque Works on their ship without knowing, and even worse, they had _fun _with him.

"That was... Mr. 2 Bon Clay..." Vivi looked horrified. "One of those past faces he showed was my father's..." she muttered. "What will he do with my father's face...?"

Baroque Works had the power to imitate the ruler of Alabasta's face, and that fact was really scary... but what was even scarier was the fact that now he could turn into almost any one of the Strawhat pirates.

"We won't be able to trust each other..." Nami said gravely.

"I think it's a good thing we met him." Zoro smirked. "Now we can take counter measures."

* * *

The crew was tying bandages around their forearms.

"Tie them on tight !" Zoro said, tying his own bandage with his teeth.

"As long as we can see these, we won't doubt one another," Nami said, smiling.

"Okay !" Luffy pointed his arm forward. "From now on, this left hand is the proof of our friendship !"

The rest of the crew joined him, beaming proudly.

* * *

**Fourth Day**

**Weather : ...****  
****Mood : Dying...**

**Sleeping is the only thing we can do. **

"Is she still alive ?" Usopp inquired, poking Eli on the arm.

"She's very weak," Chopper said gravely. "Unlike us, her body can't seem to stack up energy."

Eli opened her eyes and glared at Usopp still poking her. When she swiftly grabbed his nose, a squeak of surprise escaped his mouth.

"Your nose..." Eli said quietly, her lips slowly curling up into an evil smirk. "How much... do you need it ?" She licked her lips hungrily.

"Ahhhh !" Usopp yelled in fear, scrambling backwards frantically under Luffy's laugh.

Eli used her remaining strength to climb up the to the crow's nest. It was her favorite spot on the Merry, especially when she wanted some time alone. She lay on the floor and fell asleep lulled by the sound of the wind gently fluttering their Jolly Roger...

to be continued

* * *

**Betaed by Iwin Ulose.**

_Some one ordered some fluff ?_  
_Well, there you are._

_Hoped you liked it :)  
_


	31. D&D

**Chapter 31****  
D&D**

"Fifth day..." Eli sighed. She was once more lying on the deck gazing lazily at the sky above her.

"You look pale..."

She rolled lazily on her side to look at Ace. "Just... shut... up... you... you... freckled.. thing... stupid hat..." she mumbled incoherently with almost lifeless eyes.

The young man chuckled childishly. Who could blame him ? Eli's pathetic state was quite comical, after all. The usually chatty, annoying, and strong-minded girl was but a shadow of her former self.

Eli sighed and rolled on her back to gaze at the sky again.

"MEOOOOWWWWWW !" The sudden cry of a giant fish-cat emerging from the sea next to the Merry, jerked the pirates out of their lethargy at once.

"A Sea Cat !" Vivi yelled, staring at the cute beast with wide eyes.

"UWAAAAUGH ! A SEA MONSTER !" Terrified, Usopp and Chopper were wriggling like frantic worms holding their hands in the air with their mouths wide open.

On the contrary, Eli's eyes lit with malice. She sat on her feet and licked her lips hungrily watching her soon-to-be meal. Luffy, Sanji, Ace, and Zoro watched the beast with blood-lusty eyes and dashed toward it with a frantic war cry. "FOOOOOD !" They were ready to eat the poor thing alive.

"NO !" Vivi knocked them on the back of their heads with an oar making them hit their foreheads on the railing with a loud 'BANG !'.

"Vivi..." Eli crept over to the princess and grabbed her legs. She raised her head and stared at her with pleading eyes. "Why...?" she asked imploringly. "Why do you do his to me, Vivi ? Do you hate me ? Is this because of the time I stole the chocolate chips in your muffin ? Do you want me to die ? Eh ? Tell me, Vivi..."

"In Alabasta, Sea-Cats are sacred animals," Vivi replied, gently patting the starving girl on the head.

Eli fell flat on her back once again, mumbling an unintelligible complaint, and Luffy cried while chomping the railing. Who cared if they were sacred...? _Our lives are quite sacred to us, too..._

"Don't worry, you will be eating soon," Vivi said reassuringly, looking in the distance with a soft smile on her face. "Seeing a Sea-Cat means we'll soon be in Alabasta. Half a day, I'd say."

"Really ? Half a day ?" Eli's eyes once again lit with hope.

She couldn't wait to eat again and apparently the promise of a meal had given her some energy. While the girl inwardly listed all the dishes she wanted to eat, she started drooling with anticipation.

"Half a day with the Merry..." As an idea popped into her hungry mind, she turned to face Ace. "How much time with this Striker of yours ?" Eli asked, hope glimmering in her eyes.

Apparently, she didn't care for his tactile behavior anymore; eating was her TOP priority.

"Two hours at most." Ace smirked proudly.

Normally, Eli would have been annoyed by his arrogance, but right now, to her sparkling eyes, the young man was shining with an ethereal golden aura while the wind and the waves sang his praises.

"Please take me, please please please !" she begged her hero.

"Take me, too !" Luffy joined the begging.

"No way !" Eli whirled briskly to face Luffy. Towering over the small boy, she jabbed a finger into his rubber shoulder belligerently. "You're the cause of our starvation !"

"Well, she's got a point..." Usopp said, nodding in acknowledgment. The marksman was probably hoping that siding with the starving girl would prevent her wrath from befalling upon him as well, since he was almost as guilty as his captain for the lack of food.

Turning again to look at her last hope of survival, Eli clasped her hands together, beaming with hope and admiration... "Freckles..." she began solemnly. "I mean, oh great Fire Fist Portgas D Ace ! What is your answer ?"

Ace laughed childishly, obviously enjoying being treated with such reverence. "I'd love to."

"Yay !" Eli leaped with joy. "Vivi ? Nami ? Wanna come, too ?"

"We can wait a few more hours." They shook their heads smiling, glad to see Eli being herself again. "Now go ! We'll meet up in Nanohana."

* * *

During the short trip, Eli and Ace listed _all _the dishes they dreamed to eat, which only made them drool more, and the pair hadn't finished when they finally set foot on Alabasta.

Eli walked bouncily next to a never-stop-smirking Ace through the streets of Nanohana. It was a rather large and lively city. The buildings had domed ceilings and the walls had the color of the sand. The citizens were all wearing long robes, and scarves around their heads, obviously as a protection against the sun's harshness.

Sniffing the air like an animal, the cheerful girl came to a stop. She took a deep intake of air and smiled at her partner.

"I smell something good..." She grabbed Ace's wrist and started dashing though the streets like crazy under the townspeople startled stares. "THIS WAY !"

As soon as they burst in the restaurant, the hungry pirates sat at the bar under the curious stares of the other customers. It was an undeniable fact that the pair hardly went unnoticed.

The shop owner came to greet them with a warm smile. "Hello youngsters, what can I-"

"EVERYTHING !" they yelled in unison, slamming their palms on the bar.

"What ?" The man blinked, puzzled.

"We want everything !" Eli specified.

"And make that twice, please," Ace added, raising two fingers.

Eli turned to face her companion. "Wise..." She nodded with acknowledgment. "Though three times would be wiser. You have to admit you're quite a bottomless pit..."

* * *

"Wow, that man... he just died... eating."

"Look, he's still holding his fork !"

"He just fell dead on his plate..."

"Maybe he has eaten a desert strawberry !"

"This means that his body will soon spread an infectious poison !"

"We have to get rid of the corpse."

"I wouldn't approach, if I were you..."

"Lady, you should get away from him. You could be contaminated !"

Eli raised her head from her plates and blinked at the shop owner who was looking at her with a worried face.

"Whak ?" she asked with her mouth full. Seeing him pointing to her right, she turned her head and looked at Ace. He had fallen asleep in his food. "Oh don't worry, he's just-"

"PWAAH !" Ace jerked away from his plate.

"...asleep," Eli finished quietly.

"Are you okay ?" a worried customer asked.

"Huh ?" Ace looked around to see that quite a crowd had gathered around him. "Damn ! I fell asleep !"

"YOU FELL ASLEEP ?" the crowd yelled in bewilderment.

"Jeez, what are you guys so worked up about ?" Ace wiped his face. "Eli ! You could have told them !"

"Too... busy... eating," she answered, not bothering to look at him as she was still stuffing her mouth.

The young man sighed. "You guys hire comedians or something ?" Ace asked the shop owner, pointing a thumb at the still bewildered crowd.

"No... Anyway I'm glad you're okay," the man said, obviously relieved until... Ace fell asleep in his plate... again.

"HEY !" the crowd yelled.

"Wow, two times in less than five minutes, must be some kind of record," Eli said in awe, looking at her narcoleptic friend.

* * *

"Well well well... Look who's here..." a husky voice said from behind the pair. "Portgas D. Ace."

Ace and Eli looked over their shoulders to find a muscular white-haired man smoking two cigars at once while frowning darkly at the two pirates. He wore a thick white and blue jacket, brown leather gloves, blue jeans and brown leather boots.

Ace turned around completely to face the man. "Smoker." He smirked.

"A friend of yours ?" Eli asked, staring at the man.

"Not really." He stuck out his chest, resting his elbows on the bar behind him. "What's up ?"

Smoker snorted. "I heard that you joined another crew..." He shifted his gaze toward Eli. "And you... the tall one... you must be Eli."

_What ?_ The girl looked at the frowning man questioningly wondering how he could know her name... It's not like she did anything since the pirates had started their adventure. _The marines intelligence service, must be quite efficient... and bored._

"Wow, he knows your name," Ace said, looking at his puzzled friend.

"I _know _!" Eli grinned. "Kinda cool, right ?"

Ace smiled and shifted his gaze toward Smoker. "So... what do you want ?"

"Sit tight and let me arrest you," Smoker ordered sharply.

"Sorry, no can do," Ace replied with an arrogant smirk.

Eli blinked in awe. She could practically smell the testosterone in the air as it spread from the two men. It was almost suffocating...

"Listen, man, my friend and I were just having a nice lunch, not bothering anyone." Ace shrugged. "Why don't you just let us go ?" he suggested smugly.

_What a cocky... brash... boastful bastard... _Eli bit her bottom lip trying to ignore the thrill she felt observing her friend playing with the angry marine.

"I can't do that, as long as I'm a marine and you are pirates !" Smoker clenched his fists and smoke started to come out of them.

"Logia..." Eli muttered, staring at the smoke spreading threateningly from the marine's body. Fruit users were a pain in the ass, but logia were the most dreadful ones in the girl's opinion. She gulped involuntary as fear was rising up inside of her.

"That's a dumb reason..." Ace raised an eyebrow teasingly. "Chill out, man !"

"ROOOCKEEEEET !"

Eli's eyes widened seeing that Luffy had propelled himself inside the restaurant right into Smoker's back, effectively flinging the off-guard man toward Ace. Thankfully, her reflexes were quick as lightning. She grabbed the young man's arm and pulled him briskly, just in time to prevent him from being thrown away with the marine.

Eli breathed out in relief and tilted her head to the right to see the huge hole that Luffy had made through several walls. She couldn't see Smoker anymore.

Ace stood up grabbing the bar for support and fixed his hat. "Thanks," he whispered softly in Eli's ear before sitting back on his stool.

"Woohoo ! A restaurant, I'm STARVING !" Luffy yelled happily, his arms raised up in the air. He sat next to Eli and looked at the shop owner who was stunned staring at the hole. "Hey guy ! Food food food !"

"Hey..." Eli waved weakly, still a bit dazed by the boy's grand entrance.

"Hey! Eli ! Ace !" Luffy greeted, grinning.

* * *

"Maybe we should go..." Eli was slouched on the bar between the two brothers.

Luffy was filling his mouth with many different kinds of dishes: bread, pasta, meat and more. He was using the rubberness of his mouth to extend its capacity as much as possible. On the other side, Ace was casually drinking tea. Both of them were completely ignoring the fact that a high ranked marine officer was after them, and a dangerous one on top of that.

"No ?" Eli looked at Luffy hoping for some kind of answer, apparently forgetting that the boy had always had the hardest time thinking and eating at the same time...

She took her chance with the older brother. "Freckles ?"

But before he could say anything, Smoker bolted out of the hole.

"STRAWHAT !" he yelled, standing a few steps away from the pirates staring intensely at Luffy.

Luffy stared back, still stuffing his mouth with food.

Eli looked at Smoker, then Luffy, then Smoker again... Apparently, the marine must have been holding some kind of grudge against her captain since he seemed to ignore Ace and her completely... which was slightly insulting.

And the staring game kept on going, the silence becoming heavier as the time passed.

"Stop eating already !" Smoker ordered, rightly annoyed at the boy's slowness.

After one more minute, Luffy's eyes widened; it looked like he finally recognized the man.

_At last..._

"GOO GAAH MOKOH GOHH !" Luffy yelled with his mouth full, and without waiting, he took all the food, plates included, that was on the bar and shove it all in his rubber mouth before dashing out of the bar soon followed by a very angry Smoker.

_Oh well... _Eli took her bag and searched for her pouch in order to pay for the food when Ace grabbed her hand and dragged her out of the restaurant.

"LET'S GO !" he yelled, running after Smoker.

"But ! We didn't pay !" Eli protested, looking back at the stunned shop owner sheepishly.

Eli pulled her hand out of Ace's grip and started walking back to the restaurant while looking for her money. Seeing that, Ace pulled a frantic U-turn, dashed toward her and came into a stop right in front of the girl.

"We have to pay, Freckles," Eli said with a slight frown.

His only reply was a large, mischievous boy's grin, which only made the puzzled Eli blink naïvely.

"HEY !" she yelled as he grabbed her waist, lifted her off the floor effortlessly, and threw her over his broad shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "What the HELL !"

After several attempts to struggle out of his hold, Eli gave up with a deep sigh. The ride wasn't enjoyable... at all. On top of being really uncomfortable, from her point of view, the girl could perfectly see the look on the townspeople's faces. Some were just rightfully startled, but most of them were amused, _highly _amused... and what was more annoying were the exclamations of praise. "Way to go, lad !" "Woohoo !" Eli even heard a "Congratulations !"

_What is wrong with these people ?_ Eli wondered, watching a group of men giving Ace the thumbs-up. Couldn't they see that she was just a poor victim ?

"You're slow..." Eli said sharply. "Let me down !"

And he did.

_Heh ?_

Before she could say anything, Eli saw Ace executing a fire-propelled jump forward. She dashed to follow the flame user and saw him land right between Luffy and Smoker, blocking a smoke attack with his 'Fire Fist'.

"What do you want ?" Smoker frowned at Ace.

Luffy had stopped running and was now looking at his brother with a wide grin. "Ace !"

The older brother looked over his shoulder. "I'll stop this guy, you run. I'll catch up later." Then he shifted his eyes toward Eli who was by his side. "Go."

Locking her eyes with his, Eli wondered if she should stay and help him since he was facing a fierce enemy accompanied by at least a dozen soldiers.

"Don't worry about me," Ace said smugly.

Eli huffed, rolling her eyes excessively. "Who'd worry about you ?" She swung around and ran after Luffy.

to be continued

* * *

**Betaed by Iwin Ulose.**

_Ace is the Messiah !_

_I couldn't help but notice that I get less and less reviews as time passes. I thought it was supposed to be the opposite._

_And since reviews are __**love**__, I'm wondering... Is my story getting boring / bad / too long ?_

_ps : Oh and for the title : D&D = Dine and Dash_


	32. Showoff

**Chapter 32**  
**Showoff **

After a rather rushed departure from Nanohana, the pirates were sailing away to go to Erumalu, the starting point of their walk through the desert to reach Yuba.

Yuba was the city where the rebel army's headquarters were stationed, and Vivi wanted to go there to talk the rebels out of the civil war providing them information about Baroque Works and their boss, the Shichibukai named Crocodile's, evil intentions.

Right before leaving the island, Vivi sent Caru to deliver a letter informing her father of the latest developments of the situation.

Watching as the ship sailed on smooth waters, Eli was leaning on the railing waiting for Ace to rush out of the port of Nanohana.

_I hope he's okay..._ Eli thought, scanning the waters as the port shrunk slowly.

"He's fine," Luffy said cheerily, patting the girl's shoulder. "Don't worry."

_Oh my god.. The rascal can read minds..._ Eli thought, staring at Luffy with wide stupefied eyes. _What am I thinking ?_ She concentrated deeply on his mind, her stare growing more intense. _Hey, I'm thinking about about bunnies, white fluffy bunnies ! Can you hear me ?_

Luffy tilted his head on the side questioningly.

_Ah ! I knew you were bluffing !_

"Elisabeth~" Sanji called out. "I found you an outfit for the walk through the desert."

"For the desert, you say..." Eli curiously watched the outfit that Sanji handed her with heart-shaped eyes.

Sanji nodded his head rapidly, a goofy smile on his face.

It was when the girl saw Nami and Vivi that she understood why the pervy cook seemed so eager to make her wear the said outfit. The girls were wearing oriental dancer's clothes. Observing them Eli couldn't help but thinking that little was left to the imagination.

Both of them were wearing approximately the same: a plunging bra with a fringe of beads, giving a nice eyeful of the girls' huge breasts, and a long flowing skirt worn low on the hips. Apparently Sanji cared for details since they also wore a full set of jewelry: earrings, a necklace, two bracelets on Nami upper arms, and as for Vivi a simple wrist bracelet.

"I'm not sure..." Eli sighed, watching the girls' busts bouncing provocatively.

"Don't be so shy," Nami said, barely hiding her amusement while she pushed the unwilling girl to the storage room.

Eli sighed again and walked slowly to the bedroom to change.

For 'some' reason her outfit was slightly different from the two girls'. It had a very short tube top instead of the bra, and her skirt had a very high slit on each side, completely revealing the girl's slender legs each time she took a step. As for the jewelry, Eli decided to leave it behind, except for a nice beaded bracelet that she put around her left ankle.

Overall, it wasn't that bad. It was actually kind of fun dressing up like this, and the outfit wasn't showing any more than she usually did, so Eli decided to keep it at least until they reached Erumalu since she anticipated that it would be a bother for walking.

"Sanji," Eli called out when she came back on the deck.

"Oh, Elisabeth~" The love cook swirled toward her, his hands clasped together. "You look wonderfewl~"

"I was wondering..." Eli brought a finger to her cheek questioningly. "...why my top is different from Nami and Vivi's ?"

"Oh, they didn't have your size," Sanji replied, obviously without thinking, his famous heart-shaped eyes checking her out insistently.

Eli's eyebrows went up. "Oh really ?" she said coldly, her face darkening angrily. "And what _is _my size, Sanji ?"

The young man must have understood the big mistake he had made since he gaped at her, stepping back slowly.

"Tell me, please," she snarled, towering over him threateningly.

"Agabahhgaahhh..." Sanji sputtered, with fear in his eyes.

As he started running away, Eli chased him, smirking evilly. The thing was, she wasn't really mad at him, but Sanji was so much fun to mess with, she just couldn't let that go.

However, her funny chase was soon interrupted by the sound of a quite indecent low whistle. Eli stopped running and looked over her shoulder. Her questioning eyes fell on Ace checking her out outrageously. Eli sighed deeply, rolling her eyes in annoyance. He was once more mocking her and her lack of sex appeal. To her old friend, she must have had only looked about the same but ridiculously disguised in a provoking outfit totally unsuited for the boyish girl she was.

And he was right.

"I know that I look stupid, but come on... it's fun !" Eli grinned. "And did you see Nami and Vivi yet ?" She walked to him and turned his head toward Nami. "We've _got _to take pictures of them. I'm sure they would sell."

Ace looked kind of confused, diving in her eyes as if he wanted to read her mind.

Eli titled her head to the side. "Don't you think ?"

"Yup," he said half-heartedly, looking away.

The girl must have had misheard the lack of enthusiasm in his reply, since she started laughing childishly picturing Sanji as her first client for those sexy photos.

* * *

"AAH !" Vivi yelled in fear, jerking the pirates out of their occupations. The princess was pointing her hand in the direction of five ships sailing threateningly toward the Merry. "It's Baroque Works !"

The crew gathered on the ship's bow to watch their enemies. There were five big ships sporting the Baroque Works emblem on their sails. Quickly, Nami started yelling orders to get the ship to move, but while they obediently ran to their designated posts, Ace jumped off the railing and onto his raft, and he rushed toward the enemies' ships at full speed. Of course, the rest of the crew became intrigued and went to the railing to see what the young man had in mind.

"Get past us if you can, hammer boy !" the Baroque Works lackeys yelled scornfully.

The pirates gawked seeing Ace propelling himself high up in the air while sending his raft underwater. His legs turned into fire and he made a series of graceful somersaults in the air above the five ships.

The strawhats could hear the Baroque Works dogs yell. "Wah !" "He jumped !" "SHOOT HIM !" They were obviously as surprised as the pirates.

Eli's eyes were following the multiple and spectacular twists that Ace was executing in the air, leaving a trail of flames behind him. It was utterly mind-blowing...

Once he cleared the ships, Ace landed perfectly on a just-emerged Striker on the other side of them, performed a swift U-turn, and hurled his inflamed fist toward the belligerent fleet.

"FIRE FIST !"

His powerful attack engulfed the five ships in a raging inferno, destroying the fleet on the spot.

While the rest of the pirates acclaimed the proud young man for his spectacular performance, Eli was speechless, her gaze following the young man as he returned to the Merry proudly.

_Do not cheer, don't even smile !_ she ordered herself.

As Ace jumped on the deck, Eli went past him. "Showoff..." she muttered haughtily.

"Aw, come on..." Ace whined, a boyish smile on his freckled face while tipping the brim of his hat with his forefinger. "Admit it, it was pretty cool."

Eli huffed and walked away. _I'd never admit that..._

* * *

"Here, wear this," Vivi said, handing Luffy and Eli a pile of long cloaks.

"But it's hot," Luffy said, pouting slightly at the sight of the heavy clothing.

"We have to wear it _because _it's hot," Vivi explained. "The desert gets over 50° Celsius..."

_Sanji is not going to like this..._ Eli thought, going though the pile of cloaks to choose one.

"We'll get badly sunburned if our skin is exposed," Nami added.

"WHAAAAAT ?" Sanji screamed, completely horrified. "You're going to wear those ?"

_Ah, faster than I expected !_

Eli had never been in a desert before. Her home country was really hot but the maximum temperature never reached 50° Celsius. Even then, she got easily sunburned. The girl chose a cream colored cloak with a blue border.

Since water was scarce in Alabasta, Eli decided to take one last shower before the long walk that lay ahead of her. She also picked more comfortable clothes: a blue sleeveless T-shirt and gray puffy shorts.

Singing loudly under the fresh water, the girl didn't hear the bathroom door opening.

"Erm..."

"GAAAH !" Eli screamed in surprise, almost tripping in the bathtub at the sudden disturbance of her relaxation time.

After regaining her balance, she quickly slipped her head behind the curtain to peer at the intruder.

"You know, with your horrible singing skills, you could probably make rain fall on Alabasta," Ace mocked.

"The door was locked..." Eli frowned at the young man. "Don't tell me you actually broke in just to annoy me."

"No it wasn't."

"Yes it was."

"No..." Ace demonstrated locking the door. "...it wasn't."

Eli's eyes widened hearing the alarming 'click'. "Okay... now... unlock the door... open it... step outside... and close it behind you," she detailed slowly, as if she was dealing with a dangerous bomb defusing operation.

Ace's eyes lit with malice while his famous roguish smile formed on his freckled face.

_Oh please..._ Eli sighed.

The girl finished her shower at light speed. Thankfully, her clothes were within easy reach. She got dressed swiftly without wasting time drying herself, and opened the shower curtain briskly, frowning at the smirking young man.

Seeing her dripping wet, Ace burst out in laughter.

"Oh, you think that's funny ?" Eli sneered. She grabbed the shower head and splashed him with a powerful spray of cold water. "Take that, Flame Boy !"

* * *

"We made it !" Luffy yelled overjoyed, jumping off the Merry. "YUPA !"

"It's 'Yuba'," Eli corrected, joining her captain.

"Right, Yuba." Luffy put his hands on his hips and looked around. "So where's the leader ?"

"But we're not in Yuba yet, Luffy." Eli sighed at the impatient boy, fixing the hood of her cloak.

"That's right, we are in Erumalu, the green town." Vivi smiled, and explained once more their upcoming trip.

The pirates had just crossed the Sandora river and docked at Erumalu. They now had almost a day of walking through the desert ahead of them to reach a town called Ido where they would rest for the night. After that, they would have one more day of walking in the desert to reach, at last, Yuba.

How the princess managed to keep her cool after having to explain the travel plans for a _third_ time to the dumb captain was a total mystery to Eli, but she concluded that patience was probably a quality required for being a good princess.

Despite of its name, Erumalu was far from green. Apparently, the town was ravaged by sandstorms, and all that was left were ruins heavily buried under the sand.

"What the hell is that turtle ?" Usopp yelled. The marksman was pointing at a small and cute creature that had just emerged from the river. It looked like a seal with a turtle shell.

"KUO !" the turtle-seal said, launching its tiny fist in the air.

"It's a Kung Fu Dugong ! Get away from it, Usopp !" Vivi warned, apparently scared for the long nosed pirate. "No Eli, don't touch it !" The princess yelled seeing the animal-lover appearing next to the dugong.

"Kuo kuoh kuooo kuo kuo kuooh, kuuo !" the dugong said, scowling at the two puzzled pirates.

"You must fight and defeat me if you want to pass, you wimps." Chopper translated.

"Ah ! Don't worry, Eli, I'll protect you !" Usopp boasted. Apparently, he saw the little and harmless creature as an opportunity to shine. "Here I come !" he yelled, rushing toward the little dugong.

It didn't take the animal more than five seconds to knock out the poor boy. Obviously proud of his utter victory, the dugong stood next to the unconscious marksman striking a triumphal pose.

"Kung fu dugongs are strong !" Vivi said, a little bit too late.

"I won !" Luffy said proudly, raising his arms in the air after defeating the animal even faster than the previous fight.

_Uh oh... _Eli's wide eyes blinked in awe as she saw a whole bunch of dugongs emerging from the water.

"Kuo." They all gathered around Luffy... and bowed respectfully before him.

Vivi explained to the pirates that kung fu dugongs were proud creatures, and their code stated that they had to become the disciples of anyone who defeated them, and in this case, that would be Luffy.

After a little interlude during which Luffy gave a fighting lesson to the eager students, a very cute scene that the ship's chronicler had to draw, the pirates waved the dugongs goodbye and walked away dragging Eli as she wanted to hug each and every one of those cute creatures.

And so, their perilous journey through the desert of Alabasta commenced...

to be continued

* * *

**Betaed by Iwin Ulose.**

_Yes Eli has a low self esteem issue... But who wouldn't next to Nami and Vivi ?  
(go to my profile if you want to see a little, and not so good illustration of Eli's Alabastan outfit)_

_Caru : done.  
Saber-__toothed cat : done.  
Hiking Bears : done.  
Chopper : done (multiple times).  
Dugong : done.  
What is the next creature Eli will hug ?_

_I was glad to have so many reviews after the last chapter, but I also felt that I didn't really derserve them snice I kinda had to ask for them...  
I just wanted to remind you that we write not only for our own pleasure, I think I'm speaking for every writers when I say that knowing that you, readers, actually enjoy reading our story keeps us going._

_Anyway thank you and see you soon :) _


	33. Frilly Frills

**Chapter 33**  
**Frilly Frills **

Walking in the desert wasn't as hard as Eli thought it would be. After all, she was kind of used to walking on the beaches of her motherland, and even if the heat was harsher than expected, Eli got used to it rapidly... which wasn't the case for Chopper. The poor reindeer was used to the very low temperatures of his winter island, and if his fluffy fur was really useful there, it was really a bother in the desert of Alabasta.

"I'll carry you," Eli offered happily. After all, in his tiny form, Chopper was very light, light enough for her to carry him easily.

Chopper nodded timidly, walking toward the girl with his head slightly drooped in embarrassment.

_Awwww... he's so CUTE ! _Eli's eyes sparkled as she reached out to grab him and put him on her back. _Hehehehehehehe..._

A blissful smile plastered on her face, Eli sped up to catch up with the group.

During the walk, Vivi told the pirates a bit more about the situation in Alabasta. The country was suffering from a three-years-long drought. It had been three years since the Alabastans had seen rainfall... except in the capital city where the royal palace was, Alubarna. The people used to call it the 'King's Miracle', until a large amount of Dance Powder was found. Apparently, it was supposed to be delivered to the King.

Dance Power, Nami explained to the rest of the crew, was a powder that was used to call rain, and this would be really perfect for a country like Alabasta if the side effect wasn't a terrible drought for the rest of the country...

Obviously, the shipment of Dance Powder for the palace was a setup planned by Crocodile. After that scandal, Vivi's father lost the trust of his people, and the rebellion arose...

Seeing Vivi so desperately shaken by the terrible condition her country was in caused anxiousness to grow in the pirates' minds. The fate of a whole nation was weighing heavily on her frail shoulders, and they couldn't find words of encouragement to cheer her up...

"CROCODILE !" Luffy yelled out, clenching his fist. "I will kick your ass !"

"Luffy..." Vivi muttered.

The captain's resolve was inspiring and with it, the anxiety vanished. The pirates grinned proudly at their captain and kept on walking forward.

* * *

"What's wrong, Chopper ?" Eli asked as she felt the reindeer crawling up her back.

"Something... is coming..." Chopper said quietly, sniffing the air with a grave look on his face.

"The wind is rising," Nami said, looking at the distance.

Soon a powerful and growing wind started blowing on the group, making their cloaks flutter noisily. The pirates' hike came to a stop, and they observed the horizon apprehensive about the uncertainty of what was coming at them...

"Everyone !" Vivi called out urgently. "Take cover ! A sandstorm in coming !"

Shielding her eyes with her forearm, Eli caught a glimpse of several tornadoes swirling at an amazing speed toward them. Unfortunately, as much as they wanted to take cover like the princess had told them to, it just seemed impossible. They were in the middle of a desert, and there was nothing but sand as far as the eye could see.

As a last resort, the pirates lay down on the ground briskly for the threatening storm was about to hit them. Eli could feel Chopper's grip on her shoulders tightening as the wind blustered violently upon them.

Clutching her knees tightly as if to gain density, Eli clenched her eyes to protect them from sand, hoping that the storm would soon get past them... but the wind wasn't showing any sign of weakening and the featherweight gritted her teeth as she started to feel her body lifting off the sand.

Instinctively, Eli tried to get a grip on the intangible ground, and like a shot, she was blown away. Shielding her eyes from the sand, she managed to catch a glimpse of her friends drifting away. Like her, they had been thrown away by the mighty storm...

_Frak !_

* * *

Eli coughed to get rid of the sand that was in her mouth and quickly looked around to find her crewmates. Seeing a small antler half buried in the sand, Eli rushed over to dig Chopper up.

"Where -cough- are the -cough- the others ? -cough-" Chopper asked.

"I have no idea." Eli stood up and scanned the surrounding area, a hand over her eyes to shield them from the blinding sun. "Let's go find them," she said, fixing her hood.

"But where ?"

Around them, there was no kind of landmark to rely on. Therefore, if they started to walk in the wrong direction, they would most likely only end up further away from their friends. Eli took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and pointed in the direction her guts enjoined her to follow.

Trusting the girl's instincts, as it was the only thing they had, the two pirates started walking unwaveringly.

After a few minutes, Chopper started sniffing at the air.

"Over there," the small reindeer said, pointing to a large dune on their right.

Reaching the top of the dune, they grinned seeing Ace lying on the sand downhill.

"Freckles !" Eli called out happily, trotting toward her friend.

But her smiling face quickly turned into a frown seeing that the young man was sleeping like a log.

"Damn !" Eli cursed, wondering how they would manage to go on with this millstone rounding their necks.

"We could just wake him up," Chopper said naively.

Apparently, the young reindeer wasn't aware of the fact that waking Ace up from one of his narcoleptic fits would be like talking Luffy into quitting meat... a long, annoying, meaningless, and painful waste of time...

_We could just leave him here..._

"Well, we can't just leave him here," Chopper said, sitting next to Ace.

_Damn !_

After what seemed like an eternity, Ace showed signs of awakening. He yawned and stretched his arms nonchalantly until he saw the heavy glares that Chopper and Eli were blasting him with.

"Oh..." Ace sat up and scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"Yeah..." Eli said coldly, before standing up. "Anyway... allons-y !"

After considering that their trusty crewmates had probably kept on with the journey, they decided to give up the search and to walk directly toward Ido. The good thing about waiting for Ace to wake up was that now the pirates knew where to go thanks to the sun's course.

However, their hike was interrupted once more as they heard a stampede behind them. Swinging around, they saw a large cloud of sand moving extremely fast toward them.

"WAAAHH !" Chopper yelled in fear, running around frantically.

The pirates blinked in awe at the herd of large, pink lizards with frills around their heads as they dashed past them at an amazing speed.

"Wait !" Eli yelled. But the lizards just ignored her, so she ran and stopped in front of the leader, her arms spread wide. "I said wait !"

Thankfully for her, the lizards stopped and looked at her questioningly before tilting all their frilly heads to the side at the same time.

Now that she got their attention, Eli walked over to the leader. "Hi, I'm Eli," she said, bowing politely. "My friends and I would like to go to Ido. Could you take us there, please ?"

"Fru fruui fru frufruhii ?" the leader said.

"He said 'And why would we do that ?'," Chopper translated as he and Ace walked up to Eli.

"Well... to be nice...?" Eli smiled, calling for the lizards' sympathy.

"FRIFRIFRIFRIFRI !" The herd burst out laughing, their frills swishing rapidly.

Eli frowned looking at the mocking lizards. Apparently, appealing to their better feelings wasn't the right course of action, yet she wasn't one to give up that easily. With their speed, the three pirates could catch up with the rest of the crew in no time. Therefore, she decided to titillate their pride.

"What if I challenged you ?" Eli waited for the leader to look at her. "A race. The fastest one of you against me."

"Fru ? FRIFRIFRIFRI !" The lizard laughed. "Frifui frii fru fru fruii, fruuu !"

"You ? And he laughed. I'll take you on anytime, puny human !" Chopper said.

Seeing Ace smirk, Eli gave him a mischievous wink. The outcome of this challenge was easy to foresee. She got rid of her bag, cloak, and shoes to be as comfortable as possible, not that she really needed to...

Of course, the race ended right after Chopper had said "GO !"

The lizards looked outrageously amazed, yet they fairly accepted their utter defeat, shaking Eli's hand humbly. Right after the exchange of courtesy, the pirates could enjoy the fast ride on the lizards' backs, not worrying anymore about being behind their fellow crewmates.

* * *

"Well, that was fast," Ace said, as they entered the town of Ido. "It must be barely noon."

"Why didn't we come across the others ?" Chopper asked worriedly. He was in his human form so that he would not attract the townspeople's attention.

Eli shrugged while putting her cloak in her bag.

"We'll see them tonight," Ace said reassuringly, patting the reindeer's back. "Now, let's find food." He rubbed his hands together briskly, looking around hungrily.

While searching for a restaurant, Eli observed the town of Ido. It was nestled in a large rocky formation, and thanks to the natural shield, the temperature was really pleasant. Apparently, Ido wasn't suffering from the drought as the streets featured a nice amount of greenery: palm trees, flowers, vines on the white walls, and even some patches of grass here and there.

Overall, it was a really nice-looking town.

The pirates got into the first restaurant they spotted and sat at table under the questioning stares of the customers. On top of wearing really untraditional clothes, a huge hairy man, a beanpole, and a shirtless guy were obviously quite a surprising sight to them.

"Are... they looking at... me ?" Chopper stammered, slightly embarrassed.

"Nah, don't worry." Eli smiled heartily while reading the menu. "They're looking at our cowboy wannabe," said the really tall, really skinny, and really underclothed girl.

* * *

After eating a quick lunch, Eli wanted to visit Ido a bit more, and Chopper joined her happily while Ace kept on eating.

They were in what looked like the main street of Ido. A variety of booths lined up along the street displayed all kinds of merchandise: clothes, fruits, jewelry... The pair avoided the perfume stands as much as possible since Chopper and his very keen sense of smell couldn't bear their strong smell. The visit was very enjoyable, the people of Ido were friendly, and the town was really pretty.

"Oh !" Eli was drawn toward a booth displaying a large choice of pearl jewelry.

"Do you like pearls, Eli ?" Chopper asked while attentively observing the nice pieces of jewelry.

"Not really, but..." The girl searched through her bag, and produced the small silk bag containing Ace's gift. "I thought I could do something with this one," Eli finished, looking at her pearl.

Ever since her birthday night, Eli had almost forgotten about the pearl, and seeing the beautiful pieces of jewelry, she thought that wearing it would be nicer than leaving it in a bag. Eli observed the items carefully and opted for a simple necklace; that way, she could wear it either around her neck or her wrist.

"What can I do for you, young lady ?" the jeweler asked.

"I wondered if you could mount this pearl on a necklace ?" Eli asked, handing the pearl to the old man.

The jeweler observed the pearl attentively. "Oh, it's a Firefly... It's been a long time since I've seen one of these," he said with a smile. "What kind of necklace would you like ?"

"Oh... something really simple..." Eli looked at the display of jewelry rapidly. "Just a chain, like that," she said, pointing to a thin silver chain.

"I can do it right now if you want," the jeweler said. "It'll cost you 15 000 Beli."

"Okay," Eli nodded, and she searched for her pouch to produce the amount demanded.

After a few minutes, the jeweler gave her the necklace. Eli attached it around her right wrist, and after thanking the old man, the two pirates went on strolling through the main street.

* * *

Chopper looked happy. Apparently, he was as eager as Eli to discover new things the world had to offer. After half an hour of aimless and enjoyable walk, they sat at a café. Asking for the specialty, they were served some delicious date balls coated in almonds and some sweet mint tea. As the little doctor wanted to check some stands out, Eli decided to stay idly at the table outside the café to rest her slightly sore feet. She pondered a minute if she should write about the recent events in her book but lazily put that idea aside drinking tea and instead watched the town's liveliness. It had been a while since the chronicler had time to relax on land. Ever since they started their adventure, the pirates had jumped from one exciting event to another. Of course, Eli loved her new life at sea filled with twists and turns, but it was nice for once to just sit there and enjoy the townscape.

"You look happy."

Eli turned her head, and found that Ace was sitting across from her, a warm smile on his face.

"Oh, Freckles. Look-"

"THERE HE IS !"

Eli squeaked as the young man grabbed her hand and ran away without any kind of warning or explanation... but seeing the waiter from the restaurant they had previously had lunch at screaming and dashing behind them, the girl quickly understood why he was running away.

"You didn't pay..." Eli said angrily, "AGAIN !"

After a few minutes of frantic chase, the pirates hid in a small and shady alley crouched behind a stack of barrels.

"Do you _ever _pay for your food ?" Eli frowned and lightly punched Ace's shoulder.

"What is that...?" he asked, when his eyes fell on the girl's new bracelet.

"Oh." Eli raised her hand to show him the piece of jewelry.

As Ace lightly touched the pearl with his finger, it started glowing faintly. "Why did you do that ?" he asked, intrigued.

"I wanted to see it more often," she said, smiling happily. "It was a waste to keep it in my bag !"

At that, the young freckled man beamed proudly.

"Okay now, let's go pay for your food !" Eli said, standing up. "And you've _got _to quit this bad habit of yours !" she nagged with a slight frown.

"Yes ma'am !" Ace said, following her obediently with his hands behind his neck and still smiling broadly.

to be continued

* * *

**Betaed by Iwin Ulose.**

_Eli's coolness (for once), some relaxing time, and a cute scene...  
Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did :)_

_Since I can't reply to them privately : Thank you anonymous reviewers :D_

_I published 'Twig' chapter 3 Friday and I'll publish 'Twig' chapter 4 on Tuesday (need to catch up) see you there~  
_


	34. Newfound Fetish

_Spoiler alert : don't read (at least the last part) if you haven't read One Piece chapter 550 (or been spoiled before reading other fics)._**

* * *

**

**Chapter 34**  
**Newfound Fetish**

After paying for the bottomless pit's bill, Ace and Eli met with Chopper at the café. Since the sun was starting to set in the horizon, they decided to look for a hotel for the night. The pirates opted for a cute and quite cheap hotel located near Ido's entrance. They made a reservation for two large rooms and walked outside to wait for their crewmates at the town entrance.

Looking around lazily, Eli yawned as she noticed that the town's liveliness was starting to falter as the sky reddened.

Within the nearly empty street, Eli's lips curled up when she noticed a building with a 'Bath-house' sign. Taking a bath would be a perfect recreation to conclude this highly lazy day in her opinion. Therefore, and without warning her companions, Eli walked bouncily toward the bath-house and walked in, completely unaware of the townspeople's frightened stares and their warning gestures.

"Boy or girl ?" the matron asked harshly as soon as Eli entered the establishment. She was a tall and portly woman with curly hair and a dark frown on her face.

"Heh ? What ? Hrm, girl..." Eli stammered, blinking as she was a bit incredulous before the woman's extreme rudeness.

After a few seconds examining her customer, the woman turned around to pick a bath towel, gave it to Eli, and pushed the dazed girl roughly to the women's changing room. Looking over her shoulder, Eli saw the matron welcoming Ace and Chopper with a grunt before throwing towels at them.

_Wow..._

Oddly, the changing room was empty but thankfully sparkling clean. While taking off her clothes, Eli wondered if bath-owner's rudeness might have had something to do with the low attendance rate of her establishment.

Eli wrapped herself up in the towel, took her soap and shampoo, and entered the bath room. It was fairly big and simply decorated, and the ambient steam carried a nice and light smell of jasmine. The fact that she was alone inside gave Eli the enjoyable feeling that she was some kind of VIP.

After taking a quick shower. Eli tiptoed to the bath with a blissful smile on her face which only grew larger as she dipped the tip of her foot in the warm water... However, when she immersed herself in the bath... a frightful thought made its way to her mind...

_What if I drown ?_

After all, Eli was all alone in the bath that seemed to grow larger as the seconds passed; there was no one to save her from the delightful yet treacherous water. It would be a really stupid kind of death if the girl was found drowned in these shallow, jasmine-scented waters.

Hearing her crewmates' voices on the other side of the wall, Eli sighed in relief... and soon rolled her eyes noticing that it wasn't reaching the ceiling, a defect that the girl had found recurrent in all the bath-houses she had been to. And apparently Alasbastan baths weren't an exception to this rule. Were the bath-house architects of this world some kind of freaky perverts ?

Eli quickly moved to the bath's blind spot in fear of Ace's facetiousness.

"Hey !" she called out. "Are you alone ?"

"Yup," Ace replied. "And you ?"

"Yup."

Apparently, the bath-owner's rudeness wasn't only driving the female customers away from her establishment...

Slumping lazily in the warm water, Eli let a soft moan of delight escape her mouth. She rested her elbows on the bath's rim and closed her eyes to fully enjoy the relaxing immersion, the soft scent of jasmine filling her nostrils.

"Are you alive ?" Eli asked after a few minutes.

"Yes, why ?" Chopper asked.

"Well... since the three of us ate a devil fruit, and one of us is narcoleptic... I thought it would be kinda stupid to drown in a bath-house."

"Oh..."

Stretching out her legs, Eli rubbed her muscles to unwind them. As her pearl dipped into the hot water, the girl smiled seeing it glow. She raised it to her eyes and complimented herself for the nice idea she had. What a nice gift it was...

"Hey, are you still alive ?" Ace asked.

"Yup."

As relaxing as the bath was, Eli felt a little guilty thinking about her other crewmates... They had been walking through the desert the whole day whereas Ace, Chopper and herself had spent half of the day doing close to nothing. The sorry girl hoped that the group would soon arrive in Ido so that they could have time to enjoy themselves, too. Nami had been talking about how she would love to take a bath ever since they had left Cocoyashi, and Eli could easily picture how thrilled the redhead would be if she was able to savor a jasmine-scented delight.

"Still alive ?" Eli asked sluggishly.

No answer.

"Are you still alive ?" she repeated a bit louder.

Still nothing.

Eli's eyes widened as the image of her two friends drowned in the steamy bath loomed in her mind. She emerged from the water brusquely with a loud splashing sound, covered her body with her towel, and climbed up a small fountain to reach the top of the wall.

"Why didn't you answer ?" she yelled angrily, seeing Chopper, thankfully very much alive, sitting in the bath with a goofy smile on his face.

"It was his idea," the little reindeer replied, pointing in the direction of the angry girl.

_His...?_

Ace popping out right in front of her made Eli jump with a loud gasp of surprise and almost fall back. Thankfully, her reflexes were good, and she grabbed the wall's rim, letting out a deep sigh of relief as soon as she regained her balance.

Apparently, Eli's reaction must have been quite comical since it made Chopper giggle goofily.

"Why did you do that, MORON ?" Eli scowled at the mischievous man before her.

His elbow on the wall's brim, Ace rested his chin in his hand. "I wanted to check if you'd actually come," he said, smirking.

_Dumbass..._ Eli thought, glaring at him until... she really _saw _him...

That was when Eli discovered that she had a fetish for wet Aces...

_Oh, god..._ Eli gulped involuntary, contemplating her friend.

Drops of water rolling from his wet, shaggy hair, gliding down on his boyish freckles. His glistening black eyes diving into hers... His roguish smile mocking her childishly. And trailing down... following the drops' sluggish course, the toned skin of his chest glittering lecherously...

_RETREAT RETREAT_, her internal alarm warned. _You've been staring for much too long !_

Eli took a tiny step back, but she still gaped at the attractive young man standing only a few centimeters away from her.

_MOVE !_

After taking a larger step back Eli did not realize that she was gradually falling backwards... What she _did _realize, though, was the look on Ace's face which had quickly turned from smug amusement into pure alarm.

_Uh oh..._

It was approximately at that moment that Eli remembered she was standing on a small fountain and that behind her, there was nothing to step on. However, it was a bit too late for that realization since the wall was already out of reach.

And with a loud yet short shriek, Eli tumbled... and splashed right into the bath on her behind.

"Ow ow ow..."

"Are you alright ?" Ace asked urgently, climbing up the wall in motion to join his friend.

"BACK OFF, SICKO !" the matron yelled, hurling a wooden basin right into Ace's face, effectively sending him flying into the male side of the bath-house.

"Hey ! Are you alright, missy ?" she asked, looking at Eli.

"Yeah..." Eli winced rubbing her aching behind. "Thanks..." She stood up and walked to the changing room dizzily...

_Damn !_

**

* * *

**Her hands behind her neck, Eli was lying on a bench outside of the bath-house, waiting for Ace and Chopper to come out. Try as she might, the snapshot of Ace's hotness did not seem to falter from her mind. A deep sigh escaped her mouth as her tingling legs prompted her to stand up and run... She stretched them upwards, pointing her toes toward the dark sky.

How troublesome it was to have a good-looking friend... Ever since the 'incident' in the winter kingdom, Eli was having a hard time dealing with him casually. There were times when Ace seemed to be acting like he used to before the 'thing', but then he'd take her in his arms and she was confused again.

It made Eli wonder, did she really know him as much as she thought...?

Gazing at the stars glimmering faintly, Eli sighed again, and slowly, the face of the man she loved faded into her troubled mind.

_Etowaru..._

Aside from the eyes they shared from time to time, Ace was _nothing _like him.

His black hair was shaggy and untamed while Etowaru's was sleek and dark with elegant tints of silver. Ace had this annoying mischievous boy's smile whereas Etowaru's was always warm and gentle. And above all, the feeling of being like a cat on a hot tin roof whenever she was with the childish flame user utterly clashed with how calm and at peace she felt when Etowaru was by her side...

_That _was love. Ace was really more like a playmate.

But why did she even need to compare them...?

"Elisabeth~"

Sitting up, Eli smiled seeing her pirate friends walking over to her. She stood up and sadly observed the pathetic state of the group; they looked completely dried, worn-out, hungry, and annoyed...

"You are so fresh and you smell so good~" Sanji said, using his remaining strength to whirl around Eli, albeit slower than usual.

"Well... thanks, Sanji." She smiled, amused. "You look drained, and you smell like sweat."

"Did you... take a bath ?" Nami asked with a slightly cracked voice, leaning forward to smell Eli.

Eli nodded sheepishly to the frowning redhead and, to ease her anger, pointed at the bath-house on the spot.

Weary as could be, the pirates shuffled over to the establishment, quietly greeting Ace and Chopper on their way.

Upon seeing Ace, the tingling sensation in Eli's legs increased. She suddenly needed to move as much as she needed to breathe.

"I'll go find a tavern," she told her two crewmates, and without waiting, she started walking through the city.

But of course the young man and the reindeer joined her; therefore, Eli found herself speeding up unconsciously while inwardly preparing herself to face all the things Ace could say to annoy her and how she should react to them... 'You looked kinda stupid there' would earn him a glare and some insults. 'I can't believe she let you go in the women's side' would be a simple efficient punch in the face. 'Did you see something you liked ?'... Well, for that, Eli would kick him in the privates, run away, and then the humiliated girl would have to join another pirate crew.

The one thing she wasn't prepared to face was his silence.

_Come on, say something, I know you want to..._ Eli frowned staring forward.

Ace wasn't even smirking; he was just _there_, as if nothing had happened, and that silence was killing her slowly, she couldn't wait, he had to put an end to her suffering, her mental health was at stake...

"Eli-"

"What ? What do you want ? You have something to say ? Spit it out !" Eli blabbered frantically, glaring at Ace.

To that, the young man not only blinked in puzzlement, but also gaped and stared at her for a few seconds before clearing his throat.

"There's a tavern right over there," Ace said, pointing to the entrance of a tavern that Eli had missed as she was too focused on her thoughts.

"Oh..." Eli followed them sheepishly, putting her hands in her pockets.

"Eli," Chopper whispered to her ear. "Is it _that _moment of the month ?"

Oh how stupid he was, and how unlucky he was to be in his human form, for if she had looked at his cute face instead, Eli's wrath _might _have lessened, but he wasn't in cute form and Eli's rage was unstoppable... She launched her fist into the doctor's stomach, sending him flying to the other side of the street...

**

* * *

**After a good and huge dinner in the good company of her friends, Eli felt a little better. She joined Zoro at the bar and order some litchi liqueur, the sweet taste of her favorite drink putting the final touch on her raised spirits.

"Look look !" Eli elbowed the swordsman with a goofy grin when she saw two men eyeing Nami and Vivi.

"What ?" Zoro asked sharply.

"Those two guys," she said quietly, pointing toward the two men with her chin as discretely as she could. "Looks like they want to eat Vivi and Nami alive !"

Zoro looked at the two men, then at Nami and Vivi, and at last back at Eli, raising high a do-I-look-like-I-care eyebrow.

_You might be cool, Zoro... but you're so not fun... _Eli sighed, slumping on the bar, and looked absently at her small glass of litchi.

"Hey," Ace greeted. "What's up ?"

"Freckles !" Eli grinned thinking that Ace would surely be a better company than the grumpy swordsman. "Look over there, the two guys, they're _totally _checking Nami and Vivi out."

"Really ?" Ace discreetly turned his head to look over his shoulder at the said men. "You're right," he said with a smirk.

"Ohohoh they're moving," Eli said excitedly. "I betcha they get to say less than ten words before Sanji kicks them out."

"Ten ?" Ace huffed. "You're underestimating Sanji... I say less than five."

The both of them attentively scrutinized the men's every move; the would-be suitors walked slowly toward the pirates' table elbowing each other repeatedly with goofy smiles plastered on their faces. As they got only a step away from the girls, Eli was on the starting blocks to count.

"Hi-"

In a split second, before the girls could even notice the men's presence, Sanji stood up and wiped them away with a swift lateral kick.

Ace and Eli burst into laughter. It looked like they had both underestimated the love cook's territorial behavior.

After that, as he had won the bet, Ace was reading the menu for his reward. Waiting for him to choose, Eli looked at him and bent to see the menu as it looked like something had caught the young man's attention.

"What ?" Eli asked.

"Did you see they served a Litchitini ?" Ace pointed at the cocktails list.

"A what ?"

"Litchitini."

"Say it one more time," Eli said, barely finishing her sentence as she started laughing nervously.

"What ?" Ace raised a questioning eyebrow, looking at the girl holding her stomach from the pain of her poorly suppressed laughing fit.

"Oh...GOD..." Eli looked at him with watery eyes and burst into laughter again. "You just... sound so... GAY !"

Once her laughing fit finally died out, Eli offered a bottle of sake as a reward for Ace and ordered a Litchitini. It was as good as it sounded fun. The two pirates tried fruitlessly to make Zoro say the word 'Litchitini'. Despite the begging and puppy-facing, the grumpy swordsman's refusal was unbendable. Eli thought she saw a glimmer of doubt in his eyes when she taunted him outrageously with a singing of 'Zoro is afraid of a word~', but to their disappointment, he just stood up and went out of the bar maintaining his usual straight and cool face.

The two pirates stayed in the bar long after their crewmates had left, talking, playing and laughing about trivial things such as 'How would Nami look with Vivi's hair ?' 'Would Usopp still be able to lie if he lost his nose ?' or 'Would Luffy still wear Shanks's hat if it was a sun hat with a flowery pattern ?'.

However, as the time passed, Eli couldn't help but notice that Ace's consummation of alcohol was out of the ordinary, even for him. Therefore, she decided that it was more than time for them to join their friends and get a good night of sleep before the long day that was ahead of them.

"We should go now," she said, smiling warmly.

"Wait," Ace said, looking absently at his glass of sake. "What if... I told you that... my father was Gold Roger ?"

_Gold Roger ? _Was this some kind of drinking game ? Eli giggled already picking her 'fake' mother as a Queen of Mermaids.

She took her chin in her hand and made a series a thinking sounds, looking upwards while thinking of a smart reply.

"I'd say..." she began slowly, "you're lying about your age _and _your name." Eli grinned.

But Ace kept looking at his glass silently.

"My mother held her pregnancy for twenty months so that the Marines wouldn't execute me... That's why I chose to bear her name."

_What ?_

Eli was completely submerged with doubts, but her friend's grave tone of voice could not be faked. He was Gold Roger's son... the son of the King of the Pirates, the greatest pirate that had ever existed.

And soon, a question rose in her anxious mind... "What about Luffy ?" she asked gravely.

"Luffy became my brother when I was ten years old," Ace said quietly, still avoiding Eli's stare.

_Became...?_ At that moment, Eli felt that her world was crumbling beneath her feet. All the things she thought she knew... the boys she held so dearly, the only family she had... they had kept a secret so big from her...

Without a word, Eli stood up and walked out of the tavern, her mind rushing with Ace's words repeating over and over again, and the feeling of betrayal digging deep through her insides...

to be continued

**

* * *

Betaed by Iwin Ulose.**

_Okay, that was hard for Eli, I hope you don't blame her... You have to understand that Luffy and Ace are the only family she has.  
Anyway I'm sure you'll be waiting for the next chapter and you should have it in two days (Saturday morning)._

_Special and official thanks to **kouriel **and **Wolfy0122 **for their gifts (link on my profile) you are just adorable !_

_Well then, as for me, like always, I'll be waiting for your reviews ;)_

_(oh almost forgot... I drew a little illustration for this chapter)_


	35. Warm Solace

_Spoiler alert : don't read if you haven't read One Piece chapter 550 (or been spoiled before reading other fics)._

_

* * *

_

**Chapter 35****  
Warm Solace**

Walking aimlessly through the empty streets of Ido, Eli's running mind was driving the poor girl crazy. She wanted to think, _really _think about what Ace had just revealed to her, but she couldn't manage to simmer down. The words were overlapping in her head like a mad and unstoppable whirlwind.

_Just SHUT UP !_ she ordered her incoherent and rushing train of thoughts, holding her head tightly.

Ace's father... the death of his mother... Luffy and their fake brotherhood...

_Fake ?_

At that instant, Eli was so furiously angry at herself for letting her mind formulate this terrible word that she managed to crack down on her impetuous thoughts.

Luffy and Ace's brotherhood was everything but _fake_. How dare she think for even one split second that the two boys with whom she had spent a part of her childhood, the two boys she held so dearly, had a _FAKE_ brotherhood ! Just because they weren't related by blood didn't mean they were not brothers. She should know, since she had always considered them as her family even almost as soon as she met them.

And how could she feel betrayed after Ace revealed a glimpse of his terrible past ? Hers wasn't pretty, either, and that was the very reason why she had preferred to conceal it.

How hard it must have been for Ace to share that with his friend...

At this thought, Eli was stunned on the spot.

_Of course it was hard, he couldn't even look at me..._

And what did she do ? She ran away... like always. Was it the only thing she could do when she was facing a difficult situation ? Run away ?

Eli hated herself; she had acted like total scum... despicable and worthless _scum_... Ace needed her to be with him and she turned her back on him. She just ran out on him and his feelings without a single word.

Without wasting one more second, Eli rushed back to the tavern, hoping that Ace would still be there.

"He's gone," the barmaid said while cleaning the empty tavern.

"How long ago ?" Eli asked urgently.

"Dunno..." She looked upwards at the clock hanging on the wall. "Ten minutes maybe..."

_DAMN ten minutes ? Did I really wander that long ?_

Dashing through the streets of the sleeping town in search of her friend, Eli tried to think of something to say to him to explain her reaction, but she had no excuses and Ace had every right to be mad at her... yet she hoped she could fix this.

_But how...?_

After a few minutes of a frantic yet fruitless search from one side of the town to the other, Eli came to the conclusion that Ace had gone back to the hotel and ran with all haste over to the establishment.

Entering the hotel, Eli rested her hands on her knees and took a few seconds to get her breath back. Besides running at her top speed through all the streets and alleys of Ido, her state of high nervousness made her heart pound so fast in her chest that her every intake of air teared at her throat from the inside.

"Did you see... my friend...? The young man... with an orange...hat ?" Eli asked the receptionist between pants.

"Yes," he replied, looking questioningly at the drained girl over his glasses. "He went to bed."

"Thanks," Eli said, before running to the stairs.

"Wait !" the receptionist called out, making Eli stop instantly. "He took a different room."

_What ?_

The man checked his register rapidly. "The room number... seven."

"Thank you..." Eli said, a bit dazed.

Climbing slowly up the stairs, Eli's resolve to see Ace was a bit shaken. If he had taken another room, it probably meant he wanted to be alone... Did she have the right to disturb him ? She had done enough damage for a night, hadn't she ?

_Damn..._

Eli's pace slowed down upon seeing the number seven carved on the bedroom's door.

She didn't even _know _what to say, so why would she even enter ? To stand there speechless before the friend she had hurt ?

_Raaaah !_ Eli ruffled her hair frantically.

Usually, Eli wasn't the kind of girl to bother herself with such considerations; she'd go with her guts and deal with the consequences afterwards. This time, however, the situation was serious; Eli had made a terrible mistake, and therefore, she couldn't make up her mind...

Open, not open ?

Guts or mind ?

Eli's head was burning up as she was facing an impossible dilemma...

_To hell with mind !_

The gutsy girl slammed the door open and took a heavy step in the bedroom.

"ELI !" Ace sat up instantly and looked at her over his shoulder, his back facing her. "What the hell ?"

"I'm sorry," Eli said, closing the door.

Ace turned his head and looked at the window. "It's okay, I-" His voice sounded softer than usual.

"I'm sorry !" Eli interrupted him. She didn't know what else to say, and she didn't want to hear him lessen her guilt.

As she marched over to him resolutely, the only thing Eli could see clearly in the light-less room was his large back covered with his white shirt. It much larger than her and the girl felt so small then.

"I told you, it's-"

"I'm sorry, Ace !" Eli interrupted again, a bit louder gathering her force and courage.

She climbed on the bed, approached slowly on her hands and knees and, without a fraction of doubt, wrapped her arms around Ace's broad shoulders.

"I'm sorry," she repeated softly in his ear, feeling his familiar gentle warmth diffusing gradually throughout her body.

The young man seemed stiff within her embrace, yet Eli didn't let go; on the contrary, she got closer, pressing her chest firmly against his back and nestling her small chin on his shoulder.

"I'm so stupid Ace, I'm so damn stupid !"

But Ace didn't say a thing, and his silence caused fear to twist Eli's guts slowly, yet painfully... The fear of the pain she may have inflicted him, the fear of losing him because of her stupidity...

Eli's mind filled with doubts. Will he ever forgive her ? Was it already too late ?

"I'm sorry..." she said with a slightly trembling voice as emotion started to creep up her throat.

And, at long last, Ace moved.

Eli loosened her embrace seeing Ace turn around slowly. Sitting down on her feet, she let her hands fall on the mattress with a soft thud and watched him sitting in front of her, her eyes focused on his face... a face she had never seen on her dear friend before.

A smile that was soft and sad at the same time...

She wanted to sort things out, to comfort him. She wanted to tell him her affection for him... but the words never found their way through her throat, and so Eli let her body speak the words her mouth could not form.

Bringing her hands to his cheeks, Eli straightened up slowly and gently rested her forehead against his. It seemed so natural; the girl's movements were gentle and smooth as if she had done this a million times.

"I'm so sorry..." she said quietly.

Her eyes diving into his dark orbs, Eli had the sensation she was facing a little boy yearning for her tenderness. She felt so bad to see him like that. Her friend, the usually so strong, so arrogant, and so fearless young man was in such a state of vulnerability... and that was all her fault.

Eli let her thumbs brush softly against the freckles she loved so much.

"I just felt a bit lost, but I'm here now..." Eli paused biting her bottom lip. "Please don't hate me..."

Ace closed his eyes and drew a long and slow intake of air before opening them again. Looking at Eli with pure tenderness, the young man brought his lips a bit closer to hers.

"That's my line... idiot..." Ace said slowly.

As he lifted a hand to her face, Eli let hers slip slowly down to his collar bone. Their foreheads still pressed together, she could feel Ace's breath caressing her face, the scent of litchi mixing with that of sake...

"I could never hate you, Eli..." Ace whispered, gently brushing his warm fingers against her cheek.

At those gentle words, she smiled softly with relief and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling his chest against hers.

When he returned her embrace, Eli closed her eyes, loosening up in the warm solace...

"I can hear anything now," Eli said serenely. "I want to hear everything you have to say... if you still want to tell me..."

And he did.

Ace told Eli everything of his troubled childhood, from how her mother had sacrificed herself for him, to his meeting with Luffy.

His story took them long into the night. Lying next to each other on the small bed, her eyes locked on his, Eli listened to his every word without interruption. She soaked it all in unconditionally. It made her understand, at last, where her dear friend had gotten his strength, his bravery, and his boundless arrogance. And the girl accepted everything, even the darkest parts... for they all made him the man he was now.

And when there was nothing more to tell, their minds finally at ease, the two pirates fell asleep next to each other peacefully...

**

* * *

**

"Eli..."

The first rays of sunlight warmed her skin, or was it Ace... Eli slowly opened her eyes.

"Hey," Ace said tenderly with a soft smile on his face, slowly withdrawing the hand that had been lightly caressing the waking girl's arm.

Eli returned his smile. "Hey-" She cut herself off slapping her hand over her mouth as the bad taste lingering on her tongue reminded her that her breath must smell horrible. Blushing lightly, she stood up dizzily and walked to the bathroom under Ace's amused gaze.

While performing her morning ritual, Eli couldn't help but smile, and why would she ? She was so happy. The night talk she had with Ace had been a revelation for her, and now she felt closer to him than ever before. The young man had opened his heart and now Eli finally felt like she understood him. All the things that had made her feel uncomfortable when she was with him had all found their meaning through his revelations.

And now that she shared the knowledge of the two brothers' past, Eli now felt like she was really part of their family.

As Ace joined her in the bathroom, Eli beamed at him happily. "So, do you know if the others are awake ?"

"I think I heard someone yell 'I'm hungry' a few minutes ago," Ace said, smiling.

"Okay, so... if Luffy is awake, everyone is," Eli said mockingly.

After a few minutes, they got out of the room and went down the stairs. At the reception desk, Sanji, Usopp, and Vivi were paying the bill.

"Morning !" Eli greeted, her happiness shining through her voice.

"Good morning," Vivi replied, smiling. "The others are waiting outside, we'll go as soon as you're ready."

"Where have you been, Elisabeth ?" Sanji asked, only focusing on the girl as she and Ace walked over to the reception desk. "I was worried."

"It was too late when we came back from the tavern," Ace said casually. "We took a different room so that we wouldn't wake you up."

Eli smiled, inwardly enjoying the little secret thingy.

"WHAT ?" Sanji yelled in bewilderment, his face darkened with anger. "You shared a room with _him_, Elisabeth ?"

Eli nodded cheerfully, gathering the sum to pay for the room.

"Did something happen between you two ?" Usopp asked, raising an eyebrow suspiciously. "Eli looks VERY happy."

"Yup." Eli grinned. _Something really great._

At that, Sanji started yelling incoherent insults at Ace, glaring at him belligerently, and seeing him just smirking in response, the angry cook started burning up.

"Ohohoh~" Usopp giggled sillily, a hand before his face barely concealing his goofy smile.

Behind him, Sanji launched a kick at Ace."Stop smiling !"

Eli sighed and turned around to face the long-nosed marksman, completely ignoring that in the background Sanji was running after Ace whose smirk grew in direct proportion to Sanji's anger.

"What 'ohohoh' ?" she said coldly, folding her arms.

Usopp began singing childishly. "Ace and Eli sitting in a tree-"

Of course, Eli's reaction was immediate; she grabbed his long nose and threw him out of the hotel. "Don't be stupid !" And while she was at it, she hit Sanji on the head to calm him down Nami-style.

_Like anything like that could happen..._ Eli huffed, looking scornfully at the two knocked-out pirates.

to be continued

**

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**

**Betaed by Iwin Ulose.**

_Okay, this one is my favorite chapter now !_

_So how many of you thought they were going to kiss ?  
Mwahahaha~ I'm such a tease !  
Please ! NO ! Not the the tickles... *run away*_

_See you soon~_


	36. Alabastan Wildlife

**Chapter 36**  
**Alabastan Wildlife**

"Aaah... I'm burning..." Luffy whined, his tongue hanging out of his mouth. "I can't even sweat..."

"Stop complaining, Luffy," Nami said harshly. "You're wasting energy."

It was the end of the morning, and the pirates had been walking for around four hours relentlessly despite their captain's wailing and the sizzling desert, the latter being surprisingly the less annoying...

Because of her almost-sleepless night, Eli couldn't carry Chopper like she had done the day before, so Zoro took over the job, dragging the little reindeer on a small wooden raft.

Apart from Luffy and Chopper, the rest of the Straw Hats bore the heat as much as they could and almost silently, Vivi and Ace being the ones who seemed the least affected for obvious reasons of being used to such high temperatures.

More than the heat, the thing that was really draining in this desert was the climbing of the dunes. Since Ido, the group had reached the ancient part of the desert and, according to Vivi, the highest dunes there reached over 300 meters tall, and it felt like they were climbing mountains... mountains whose ground had the annoying particularity of crumbling down under the hikers' feet.

"Wateeeer..." Luffy said wearily, taking the barrel of water.

"Just enough to fill your mouth, Luffy," Nami reminded with a slight frown.

The pirates still had a long journey ahead of them and they couldn't allow themselves to waste the water; it was a matter of life and death. However, what Nami had apparently forgotten was that Luffy's mouth was as extensible as the rest of him; therefore, enough to fill his mouth equaled enough to fill the rest of the crew's mouths...

As rubber boy filled up his mouth, his rubbery cheeks swelled up greatly which caused Zoro and Usopp to jump on him in anger, making him spit the precious liquid on the spot.

"That's too much !" Zoro yelled.

"Give it to me !" Usopp snatched the barrel. "That's your thirteenth swallow !"

"You just drank, it's my turn !" Sanji vociferated, pointing at the marksman vehemently.

And the wrestle began...

"STOP FIGHTING !" Vivi yelled. "You're wasting stamina !"

Ace and Eli watched the whole scene with amusement.

"How can you stay so calm ?" Nami asked the relaxed pair, frowning at the fierce sand-wrestle.

They shrugged, smiled at the annoyed redhead, and patted her shoulder compassionately. Apparently, thanks to their jolly mood, the light-hearted pirates weren't affected by the young captain's careless behavior, and after all, the rest of the group were already taking care of that.

* * *

"Ace fell asleep," Eli warned the group, crouching next to the narcoleptic's body.

"AGAIN ?" Usopp yelled, rightly irritated since it was the third time since the morning.

Grumbling, the marksman walked over to the sleeping flame user soon joined by Sanji and Luffy.

They gathered in a circle and stretched out their arms towards the center. "Rock Paper-"

"Wait !" Usopp interrupted, raising a hand. "Eli has to play, too; she seems to be the cause of Ace's high rate of narcoleptic fits today." Smiling goofily, he elbowed Sanji suggestively. "If you see what I mean~"

Sanji kicked him instantly on the nose, angrily gritting his teeth on his cigarette.

"It doesn't matter anyway," Luffy said with a shrug. "Eli can't lose at Rock-Paper-Scissors."

"What do you mean she _can't _lose ?" Usopp asked, rubbing his nose, his eyebrows going up in puzzlement. "She cheats ?"

"No, she doesn't lose, that's all," Luffy said casually, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

As unbelievable as it sounded, it was true. Eli had never lost one Rock-Paper-Scissor game in all her life. It was a gift, and the girl was extremely proud of it.

"That's impossible," Usopp said sharply, looking at Eli who had a large self-satisfied smile on her face. "No one can _never _lose, it's a stupid game of luck..."

"Call it whatever you want, Usopp, but it's true," Eli boasted, looking scornfully at her untrusting long-nosed friend.

"Elisabeth is wonderfewl~" Sanji clasped his hands, looking at Eli with heart-shaped eyes.

To prove her words, Eli played with them, blindfolded, and won. Much to her delight, Usopp was the one to lose and therefore was the one who had to drag Ace until he would wake up. Maybe her special skill also gave her the ability to choose the loser. Eli took a mental note to experiment on that later.

Usopp's growls of anger were music to Eli's ears, but unfortunately, narcoleptic boy woke up only a few minutes later. After thanking his long-nosed friend, Ace resumed the hike by Eli's side.

Rubbing his eyes, the young man looked slightly puzzled to see an angry Usopp glaring at a really cheerful Eli.

"Did I miss something ?" Ace trailed off with a yawn.

"Nothing..." Usopp muttered, looking away.

"Usopp is angry at my special skill," Eli whispered mischievously in Ace's ear.

"Which one ?" Ace asked while fixing the girl's hood.

"Rock-Paper-Scissors." Eli grinned proudly.

"Even if it's true..." Usopp began, sounding rather annoyed, "it's the most useless 'ability' I've ever heard of !"

"Useless ?" Eli looked at Usopp with disdain. "And what if the planet was threatened by an evil dark lord who liked playing games and the only way to stop him was to win a game against him ?" Eli pointed a finger at the unfaithful marksman. "Then I'll save your poor ass, Usopp !"

"Yeah, right, 'cause that _could _happen..." Usopp said wryly, rolling his eyes.

"It totally could !" Eli claimed. "And you should keep that in mind ! Your life is in my hands." The proud girl put her hands on her hips, stuck out her chest and started laughing loudly. "Mwahahahahaha~"

"Right..."

* * *

"Hey Sanji, let's eat lunch !" Luffy said excitedly. "Pirate Lunch box time !"

It was almost noon. Even without checking the hour, Luffy's hunger could be trusted on that since it was as regular as a clock. At the mention of food, Eli's stomach instantly demanded to be filled, uttering long growls.

"Not till Vivi says it's okay," Sanji said coldly, frowning at his young captain.

"Vivi, let's eat !" Luffy said cheerfully.

"But we still have a long way to go, Luffy," Vivi said politely.

"Jeez you're dumb, haven't you heard of this proverb ?" Luffy was frowning at the blue haired princess. "Eat When Thou Art Hungry."

"You just made that up..." Usopp glared at Luffy.

"Nope..." Eli said as the dumb proverb reminded her of some memories of the old times in Fuschia. "I'm pretty sure I heard him say that before."

"Yup, it's grampa's motto." Ace nodded.

_Brrr... _A shiver ran up Eli's spine at the mention of the two brothers' grandfather... She shook her head to prevent repressed memories to resurface in her mind.

"We'll take a break when we reach the next rock," Vivi offered nicely, making Luffy look around frantically in search for rocks.

"OVER THERE !" Luffy yelled, dashing over a dark shape blurred by the heat waves.

_What is that ?_ Eli wondered, seeing the said 'rock' moving... fast... now chasing after Luffy who sprinted with all haste toward his crewmates.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH !" the boy screamed his lungs out.

Eli was stunned on the spot. It was a giant beast and the way it moved... the unbearable crunching sound accompanying the movement of its multiple legs... its hard shell reflecting the light of the sun...

_Ohgodohgodohfrakinggod..._

"It's a giant scorpion !" Vivi yelled in fear. "Luffy, be careful, its dart is poisonous !"

Usopp and Chopper started yelling bewilderedly while holding their faces distorted in horror.

Cold sweat building on her nape, Eli couldn't move as she was completely petrified at the view of the giant creepy-crawly running toward them, its giant mandibles rattling threateningly...

"B...bb..." Eli stammered, tugging Ace's sleeve, her eyes widened in fear never leaving the giant scorpion. "B... burn it..."

The flame user, followed by Sanji and Zoro, rushed over to the giant insect and, without waiting, unleashed their mighty attacks all at once, killing it on the spot.

Eli's mind came rushing back as a shiver ran through her body seeing its legs twitch in a disgusting postmortem spasm.

"What is she doing ?" Usopp asked, looking at Eli who seemed completely frenzied; after taking off her cloak, she started rubbing her skin frantically while running around the puzzled pirates.

"They're everywheeeeeerre !"

"She doesn't like insects," Luffy said.

"GYAAAAAAAAAAHH" Eli screamed hysterically, slapping, elbowing, and kicking the pirates who dared to approach her in order to calm her down.

"Oh..." Usopp's lips slowly curled up into a mischievous smirk.

* * *

After Eli's fit, the group resumed their hike, hoping to see a rock formation soon to take a break. Thankfully for them, Luffy was dragging everyone's bags after losing an epic Rock-Paper-Scissors battle initiated by Usopp who wanted to test once more Eli's 'special ability'.

"Rock sighted dead ahead !" the marksman informed ecstatically, looking through his goggles.

"BREAK TIME !" Luffy cried out, dashing at an amazing speed toward the rocky formation.

"Yay..." Eli whooped wearily.

The girl was extremely happy to be able to take a break, but apparently, her hysterical fit had drained all of her stamina, as she was now shuffling tiredly behind the group. Ace had offered to carry her, but Eli had refused arguing that she wasn't a sissy, inwardly hoping that Zoro would high-five that statement. Unfortunately, he did not...

"Why is he coming back ?" Usopp asked, watching Luffy rushing back toward his crew.

"There's a bunch of dying birds back there !" Luffy yelled, alarmed. "Come on, Chopper !"

"Okay, I'm coming," the little doctor agreed gravely, as the situation seemed extremely worrying.

* * *

"Those birds..." Vivi began gravely. "They are called Evil Herons. They pretend to be dying to steal travelers' belongings."

How lucky they were to come across Luffy; with his pure heart, the boy had been easily tricked by the evil birds' act...

"We had supplies for three days in those bags, Luffy !" Sanji yelled angrily, grabbing the boy's clothes. "How could you let a bunch of birds steal it ?"

"But I was tricked !" Luffy protested. "I can't help it !"

"You're dumber than a bird !"

"WHAT ?"

"Calm down, Sanji." Ace stepped in, resting his hand on the furious cook's shoulder. "It's not his fault," he said calmly. "We'll be in Yuba tonight, no need to waste energy."

"Ace is right," Zoro agreed, sitting down. "Let's take a break."

Eli sighed, slumping down against a rock. She had to agree; it wasn't Luffy's fault, and if it had been her, she would probably have been tricked equally, but that didn't erase the fact that they had now lost all of their food and water...

"Are you alright ?" Ace asked, looking at Eli who was yawning drowsily.

"Mhmh." She nodded. "Just tired, don't worry," she said, smiling warmly to reassure him. "And I still have my bag."

Eli was glad she had only given her supply bag to Luffy and had kept the one which contained her precious log book.

Despite the fact that the group seemed to take the incident surprisingly well, Luffy wasn't going to give up, and as soon as he spotted the evil herons sneering at him, the impulsive captain ran after them.

"GIVE BACK OUR STUFF !"

"Don't follow them !" Nami and Vivi tried to stop him yelling their lungs out, but Luffy didn't hear them, or he just didn't want to.

Once again, a few minutes later, Luffy came back dashing and yelling, chased by an enormous beast; this time, according to Vivi, it was a giant sandora lizard.

_Is there anything that's not 'evil' or 'giant' in this desert ? _Eli wondered, watching with weary eyes the crew's fighters going all out on the gigantic reptile.

Luckily, its meat seemed edible; Zoro chopped it up and Ace roasted the welcomed meal. Eli smiled thinking how useful their combat skills were in everyday things.

* * *

"What's up with the camel ?" Zoro asked, pointing at a camel standing dignified next to the group.

Luffy explained that they 'met' when they were chased by the giant lizard.

The camel didn't seem to be wild since it had a saddle attached on his back. It looked large enough to carry two persons. The crew was delighted to have a mount at their disposal; surely, it would help smooth the hike through the harsh desert.

"VWOO VWO !" The camel bit Luffy's head as he tried to mount it.

"What ?" Luffy frowned, rubbing his head.

"Vwoo vwoh vwo vwwo," the camel said.

"I'm just a passing camel. Thanks for rescuing me. I'll let you ride me but... not the guys," Chopper translated.

The boys' reaction was immediate; Luffy, Usopp and Sanji jumped on him stomping, kicking and punching relentlessly until Eli stepped in to protect the poor thing.

"Stop that !" The animal defender frowned angrily at the bullies.

"I'm sorry my bandits hurt you," Nami said to the camel, joining Eli.

Eli scratched behind the camel's ear while Nami gently rubbed his chin; the girls' attention made the animal swoon in delight.

"What a good boy." Nami smiled. "What should we call you ?"

"Idiot."

"Moron."

"Dumbass."

"Pervert ?"

"How about Eyelashes ?" Nami proposed, smiling.

"Vwo," the camel replied, nodding happily.

"But we've got a problem," Eli said. "We are three girls, and there seems to be enough room for only two."

"It's okay," Vivi said. "I can walk. Take my place, Eli; you look tired."

"Vwo vwooh vwo," Eyelashes said, looking at the girls with heart-shaped eyes.

"It's okay," Chopper translated. "You are so thin and light, I can carry the three of you easily."

"Awww how nice," Eli exclaimed, and she hugged the gentle-camel on the spot.

"Pervert camel..." Luffy and Sanji muttered, glaring at Eyelashes as the girls mounted it.

It was so comfortable, and Eli was so tired that she quickly fell asleep against Vivi's back, the boys growling angrily behind them all the while...

to be continued

**

* * *

Betaed by Iwin Ulose.**

_I like Eli's special ability, and don't you dare saying it's useless !  
__I also like the light-hearted couple ;)  
Oh and Usopp mischievousness !_

_Like always I'll be waiting for your reviews, and you can ask me anything I'll always reply._

_See you soon~_

_Oh and I almost forgot; 'Twig' 5 is up. It is a short and sweet chapter in which you will find a tiny bit of information about Eli's pearl.  
_


	37. The Dying Country

**Chapter 37**  
**The Dying Country**

When Eli woke up, the sun was setting on desert, making the temperature much more enjoyable. Opening her eyes slowly, the waking girl soon became aware that she was hugging Vivi's back tightly.

"Er... sorry," Eli said sheepishly. Withdrawing from the princess's back, she stretched out her arms yawning loudly.

"That's okay," Vivi said nicely, looking at Eli over her shoulder. "Did you sleep well ?"

"Very."

Turning around, Eli watched the boys walking behind them; they seemed completely drained whereas the girls were on top form thanks to Eyelashes. She jumped down and joined them to stretch her numb legs.

"Feeling better ?" Ace asked as Eli joined his side.

"Yup." She nodded. "Tell me what I missed," Eli requested eagerly.

Ace looked upwards narrowing his eyes thoughtfully. "Well..." After a few seconds, he shifted his gaze toward her. "Luffy was so thirsty that he ate a cactus..."

"Of course," Eli said sarcastically.

"... which turned out to be hallucinogenic."

"Figures."

"During his trip, he saw a giant tsunami and wanted to attack it."

Eli started laughing picturing the scene.

"Thankfully, Chopper gave him a tranquilizer shot, and after that, the hike was much more bearable." Ace smiled at his laughing friend before clearing his throat. "Then there was the time I woke up in a cave."

"A cave ?" Eli asked, tilting her head questioningly.

"Well I _thought _it was a cave..." Ace paused, arousing Eli's curiosity. "...but it turned out to be a giant lizard's stomach."

Eli burst out in laughter, too bad she wasn't awake to witness that.

"Of course I burned it up from the inside." Ace grinned.

"Of course," Eli said, rolling her eyes while still laughing lightly. "And why are you carrying Usopp ?" she asked, pointing at the marksman sleeping on Ace's shoulder.

"Oh..." He looked at Usopp. "He had a heatstroke."

"Wow... must be a bummer when you fall asleep, too," Eli jested, sticking the tip of her tongue out playfully.

* * *

Since there was nothing in the desert to retain the day's heat, the temperature dropped tremendously when nighttime arrived. The shivering pirates hoped to see Yuba soon so they could finally take a good and well-deserved night's rest.

Looking at Ace, Eli sighed thinking how lucky he was; the flame user feared neither heat nor cold.

"There !" Vivi said happily, pointing to an indistinct shape that lay ahead. "That's Yuba."

"Yay..." Luffy and Eli whooped listlessly, raising their fists in the air in slow motion.

"What's that sound ?" Zoro asked suddenly.

As the group approached the town, they could hear a rumbling sound becoming louder.

"A SANDSTORM !" Vivi yelled, her eyes widened in fear. "Yuba is being attacked by a sandstorm !"

A few minutes later, when they finally reached the town, the sandstorm had died out and the terrible vision it had left behind struck the pirates with dread. Instead of the lively oasis that Vivi had described, the town was in the same state as Erumalu: dried and half buried under the sand.

"Impossible..." Vivi muttered, looking all around at the devastated townscape.

"Travelers, eh...?" A man was shoveling the sand in the middle of the town. "You must be tired from your trip through the desert, but I'm afraid this town's a little dried up..." he said wryly.

_A little dried up... That's an understatement..._ Eli thought sadly, watching the man shoveling relentlessly despite the titanesque weight of the task.

"But you can still rest..." the man said, smiling wearily at the pirates. "We have a lot of inns, that's what this town was known for..."

The man was old and, like his town, dried up. His face was hollow with fatigue, yet he still managed to smile.

"Excuse me," Vivi began, hiding her face to prevent the man from recognizing her. "We heard that the rebellion was based here..."

At that, the old man's smiled vanished, and his face darkened with disgust. "Those fools... they are not here anymore..." he said harshly before returning to his task.

"WHAAAT ?" the pirates yelled in unison, bewildered.

"The storm that you just saw wasn't the first to attack the town," the man explained. "For the past three years, they have become more and more frequent, making the sand steadily eat away at the oasis. Without the circulation of goods, the rebellion couldn't stay here. They moved to Katorea..."

"Katorea..." Vivi muttered, bringing her hands to her mouth in shock.

"Where is that, Vivi ?" Luffy asked, looking at the princess. "Is it close ?"

"... It's the oasis next to Nanohana..." Vivi replied quietly, looking down.

"NANOHANA ?"

The pirates were facing one surprise after the other, each of them more discouraging than the previous... At that rate, they would soon be out of stamina and will to go on.

"Did you just say 'Vivi' ?" the old man asked, walking toward the princess who tried to hide her face with her hood.

"Hey mister ! Vivi is not a princess, okay ?" Luffy yelled.

_Moron... _Eli slapped her forehead while Zoro slapped Luffy.

"Vivi..." the old man said with a trembling voice, his eyes filled with tears. "I'm so glad you're alive, Vivi." He reached out to grab the princess's shoulders. "I guess you don't remember me. I've lost some weight..."

"Mister Toto...!" Vivi breathed on the verge of tears, watching the man's face incredulously.

"Listen, Vivi ! I believe in the King ! He would never betray our country," Toto claimed. "This rebellion is absurd !" His voice rose into a quivering shout.

The princess was speechless for a moment, her hand on her mouth and her eyes widened in horror.

"I beg of you, Vivi !" Toto said, tightening his grip on the princess's shoulders. "They are prepared to die ! PLEASE STOP THOSE FOOLS BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE !"

Vivi closed her eyes and took a deep intake of air before opening them again.

"Mister Toto," she said softly, a gentle smile on her face. "We can stop the rebellion !"

* * *

When Toto had calmed down, he led the pirates to an inn and offered them a large room with enough beds for all of them.

Walking through Yuba, Eli couldn't help but be saddened by its lifelessness. It was a large city with broad streets and beautiful buildings. The girl could easily picture it as lively as Ido, yet the terrible drought and the multiple sandstorms had slowly drained the city of its life and its people.

Toto was the only one still believing in Yuba's revival, relentlessly shoveling the sand brought by the storms.

Looking absently through the bedroom's window, Eli's mind was filled with gloom. Even if it was big and its influence went over its borders, the country of Alabasta was slowly dying...

"Ow !" Eli was jerked out of her sad thoughts when she received a pillow to the back of her head.

Swinging around, she saw Zoro, Usopp, and Chopper engaged in a fierce pillow fight.

"Sanji, that's mine..." Vivi said, looking at Sanji casually lying in her bed.

"Yeah, I figured you didn't want to sleep alone tonight," Sanji said.

Eli chuckled when Usopp launched a pillow at the perv-cook's head.

And the wrestle began... again.

Vivi and Eli looked at each other and smiled heartily. Those stupid boys were really the best remedy for their melancholy, and they didn't even know they were.

"Where are Ace and Luffy ?" Eli asked, looking around questioningly as she couldn't see the two brothers.

"I think they are still outside," Vivi replied. "They should go to bed, they need to rest."

"I'll go get them !" Eli said, walking out of the bedroom.

She soon found Luffy; he was still with Toto, apparently digging up sand.

"What are you doing, Luffy ?" Eli asked, crouching next to his hole.

"Digging," the boy replied, not bothering to look at her as he continued to dig up sand with his bare hands.

"I can see that..."

"The oasis is somewhere under this sand," Toto said, smiling at Eli. "That boy is helping me out."

As she watched Luffy digging despite the tiring day he had gone through, Eli's lips slowly curled up into a warm smile. She knew that he wasn't aware of it, but Luffy did things like this, perfect little things, that completely wiped out the stupidities of the day. At that moment, Eli didn't care if they had no food or water, because they had the best captain ever.

"Luffy," Eli called out gently.

"Mmh ?" He raised his head to look at her.

"Don't stay up too late, 'kay ?" she said, patting his head.

Luffy nodded before resuming his frantic digging.

_Now Ace... _Walking through the empty town, Eli found the older brother standing in the middle of a street, looking up at the sky.

"Freckles," she called out, walking over to him. "What are you doing ? We have to-"

The girl was interrupted as Ace raised her face upwards.

"Ohh..." Eli's mouth opened as she marveled at the sight of a small comet shining in the dark sky. "Turay..." she said quietly.

"What did you say ?" Ace asked.

"Turay, it's her name," Eli said. "I can't believe she was behind us all this time."

As the pirates had been walking forward and never looking back, they were never aware of the comet's presence behind them.

"That's a good omen," Eli said happily. "Turay is the guardian of peace..."

"You really like stars, don't you ?" Ace said, smiling at the amazed girl.

Eli nodded silently, hypnotized by the comet's marvelous glow.

"Is... is that what your tattoo stands for ?" Ace asked, apparently uneasy to question the girl about her mysterious tattoo.

"Oh... you remember..." Eli looked at him, slightly embarrassed.

_Of course he remembers... Who could forget that major hysterical fit...?_

"And the answer is 'not really'." Eli slowly brought her hand to her nape to touch the little hidden star that even she couldn't see. "It's a mark from my country. It represents the passage to adulthood."

Eli paused, letting her mind slowly recollect the memories of the meaning of the tattoo.

"You see, my people considered stars as their ancestors and guardians," Eli explained. "And when we reached fifteen years old, there was this traditional ceremony during which we let go of our parents' bonds to become children of the stars..."

* * *

_"Let me goooooooooooooooo !" Eli yelled, struggling against her aunt who was holding her wrist tightly. _

_"No way, you're going to run away again !" the woman said harshly, dragging the girl toward her house. "JEDD !" she yelled, walking into the house. _

_"Stupid old hag !" Eli barked. How dare she use her father for her stupid traditions?_

_"You better watch your language, little pest." She scowled harshly at the angry girl and dragged her to the living room. "JEEEEEEEDD !"_

_Eli's father walked in and looked questioningly over his glasses. "What is wrong, Anora ?"_

_Tearing her hand from her aunt's tight grip, Eli walked to her father's side. _

_"Your daughter... and her boundless stubbornness," Anora said, frowning at the girl._

_"Well, nothing new then," he said, laughing lightly. He rested his hand on Eli's shoulder. _

_"This time, it's serious, Jedd." Anora folded her arms. "She's fifteen, she HAS to undergo the rite of passage and get her tattoo !"_

_"I don't want to be marked like a stupid cow !" Eli growled angrily._

_"A COW ?" Anora took a step toward the girl. "Don't you respect anything ?"_

_"Professor, I..." Etowaru walked in under the stares of the three family members. "Oh, I'm interrupting something..." _

_Seeing him, Eli's mood changed instantly; she straightened up, combed her messy hair rapidly, and tried her best not to blush as she felt really ashamed of her 'wild' personality facing him... And he looked so good in his uniform: simple dark pants and a matching vest with a narrow upright collar divided in front. Eli focused her eyes on his emblem to avoid his gaze._

_"No no, not at all," Anora said, smiling broadly. "You're a reasonable young man, Etowaru. Maybe you can knock some sense into this thick-head."_

Old hag... _Eli clenched her fists, fighting her urge to punch her aunt in the face as she dared badmouthing her in front of him. _

_Jedd laughed loudly, patting his daughter's shoulder._

_"You see, she doesn't want to get her star tattoo," Anora said, faking concern._ _"Isn't that just sad ?" _

_"Lizzie ?" Etowaru called out quietly, raising her face with his hand._

_"I... I..." Eli stammered, completely lost in his deep eyes._

_"I'm sure it would suit you," he said, smiling warmly. Then, bringing his lips to her ear, he whispered softly, "Shooting Star..."_

* * *

"Eli ?" Ace called out, waving his hand in front of her eyes. Apparently, she had been staring into space for some time.

"Ah, sorry !" Eli shook her head rapidly. "Where was I ?"

"It's okay." Ace smiled kindly. "I think you told me everything."

_Everything...?_

"Let's go," he said, walking toward the inn, his hands behind his neck.

_He told _me_ everything... _

"Eli ?"

_I want to tell him..._ Eli gazed at the stars above her, sincerely hoping that they were really looking after her. _It hurts so much ! _

Clutching the fabric of her cloak, Eli fought the tears that were threatening to fall from her eyes as the terrible images of her past hammered in her mind.

"Eli !" Ace gripped the girl's small shoulder. "Are you okay ?" he asked, peering anxiously at his friend.

She wanted to tell him her past, all of it, just like he did... Eli didn't know why, but she felt an ache in her chest that prompted her to let Ace know everything about her. However, slowly shifting her gaze to him, Eli saw the worry gleaming in his dark eyes, and at that instant, she knew that if she told her dear friend what happened before they met, the reason why she had left her country, she would only make him sad.

Her homeland reduced to ashes... the excruciating smell of the burned corpses of everyone she knew... the smothering, defeaning silence of the streets...

Ace didn't need to know that... and this way, he would remain ignorant of the fate of Eli's people, and his eyes on her wouldn't become disenchanted.

With a quiet and agonizing sigh, Eli took a step toward him and leaned her chest heavily against his.

"What's wrong, Eli ?" Ace asked grievingly, instantly wrapping his arms around her.

And in his arms, Eli felt protected and at peace. In his arms, the ghosts of her past slowly vanished from her mind.

No, he didn't need to know... because it was all in the past, and because Eli had been reborn when she had met him and Luffy... Her previous life no longer held any importance. She wasn't the last of the children of the stars anymore; she was just a girl smiling happily in the arms of a boy.

"Nothing," Eli said heartily, her eyes closed as she relished in the capturing warmth. "Nothing at all."

to be continued

* * *

**Betaed by Iwin Ulose.**

_In case you don't remember 'Shooting Star' is the name Etowaru gave to Eli after she ate her devil fruit._

_I like the last part very much ;)_


	38. The Town of Dreams

**Chapter 38**  
**The Town of Dreams**

"YOU 'QUIT' ?" Eli yelled, tugging at Luffy's sleeve to make him stand up. "What the hell do you mean by that !"

"We don't have time for your games, Luffy !" Nami scolded. "Get up, now."

"If we don't stop the rebellion in time, it's all over," Sanji explained so that the dumb captain would understand the urgency of the situation. "We have to walk all the way back to go to Nanohana and then Katorea, so stop wasting time."

"Booooring..." Luffy said coldly, sitting against a tree with his hands behind his neck. He looked and sounded like a spoiled brat.

"Boring ?" Eli's face darkened. She couldn't believe him; the fate of a million people were in their hands and Luffy didn't want to go because it was 'boring'...?

Sanji and Eli were about to kick his ass when they felt Ace holding them back, putting his hands on their shoulders.

"What the HELL ?" they yelled, looking at the flame user who only shook his head slowly.

Was he agreeing with his little brother ?

"Vivi," Luffy said gravely. "I want to beat the crap out of Crocodile !" His piercing eyes were focused on the princess's. "If we stop the rebellion, will that stop Crocodile ? We're pirates, you're better off without us to go stop the rebellion."

At that statement, the pirates were speechless. It was hard to admit, but Luffy was right...

"You just don't want anyone to die in this war. The people of your country or any of us. We're facing a Shichibukai and a war involving over a million people and all you want is for no one to die," he continued sharply. "That's naïve !"

_Naïve ?_ Looking at Luffy, Eli felt rage gnawing her insides. She clenched her fists, digging her nails into the palm of her hands.

"Don't," Ace said, tightening his grip on her shoulder.

Eli jerked out of his grip and swung around as she couldn't bear to look at Luffy anymore. She wanted to shut his babbling mouth for good, yet even if he was harsh, the boy was right... painfully right.

"What's wrong with that ?" Vivi yelled, her face distorted in anger. "What's wrong about not wanting people to die ?"

"People die," Luffy said coldly.

"DON'T YOU DARE SAY THAT !" Vivi hurled her fist in the young captain's face.

"THEN WHY ARE YOU RISKING YOUR LIFE ?" Luffy yelled harshly, punching Vivi.

The pirates gasped in disbelief and yelled out to stop their captain who had obviously gone mad.

"YOU THINK RISKING ONE LIFE IS ENOUGH ?" Luffy continued to yell despite the multiple punches the princess was launching at him. "WHY DON'T YOU TRY RISKING OUR LIVES, TOO ?"

With a loud gasp, Vivi jerked away, tears flowing from her blue eyes.

The sight of the desperate princess squeezed Eli's heart harshly... Because of the atrocious memories that resurfaced the night before, the fate of Alabasta touched her deeply... painfully.

"Look at you..." Luffy said quietly. "You're crying."

Vivi tried to hide her crying face, sobbing and trembling like a leaf.

_Vivi... _As Eli felt the princess's sadness slowly engulfing her, she frowned. She had to be strong, like Luffy, like Vivi, like everyone... She wanted to save the people of Alabasta as if to atone for her incapacity of saving her own, and to achieve that, she couldn't let gloom eat her from the inside.

"You're the one who wants to kill him the most," Luffy said. "Tell me where Crocodile is !"

* * *

Crocodile was stationed in a city called Rainbase situated one day of walk straight to the north of Yuba. According to Vivi, it was a gambling town completely untouched by the drought. Therefore, the pirates could at last find water there. They hoped that the princess wouldn't be proven wrong like she had been about Yuba...

One whole day of walking through the sizzling desert without even one drop of water wasn't a very encouraging prospect. Therefore, Luffy and his little barrel of water that Toto had managed to extract from the dried soil of Yuba was object of envy for Usopp.

"Please, one little sip..." Usopp begged, wasted tears streaming from his eyes.

"No way !"

"Gimme."

"No way !"

The sight of the two boys fighting for a little barrel of water was tiring... and also surprising.

"Luffy can really restrain himself when he needs to," Nami said awing at Luffy's 'mature' behavior.

"I guess you can say that..." Eli said without conviction, looking at the fight wearily.

Despite the heat, the fatigue, and the thirst, it seemed that the boys still had enough stamina to fight, and that was... amazing, stupidly amazing.

Thankfully, the other males of the crew were hiking calmly. Eli noticed that Chopper was walking by himself; perhaps he was starting to get used to the heat.

The girls were riding Eyelashes like the day before under the jealous glares of the usual wailing ones; Usopp and Luffy who, after begging Nami fruitlessly to let them ride, were muttering some 'camel-woman' comments sharply. However, the girls didn't care and enjoyed the ride without an ounce of guilt... well, except for the kind-hearted Vivi.

"I wonder if we'll have time to play in the casino," Nami said with beli-shaped eyes.

"Oh, you like gambling, Nami ?" Eli said, slightly surprised.

_Well, I should have guessed that, though..._ she thought, watching the redhead nodding happily.

"Don't you play ?" Nami asked eagerly. Did she want to find a victim for a future game ?

"Nop', I'm not really good with cards," Eli replied sadly and sighed remembering the large sum of money she had lost during some poker games at the Baratie.

"Really ?" Usopp said with a large mischievous smirk. "You're good with aces, though !"

Out of nowhere, Sanji kicked the marksman in the back, flinging him a few meters away.

"I don't understand..." Eli said slowly, watching the frowning cook.

"Don't worry, Elisabeth~" Sanji said lovingly before swirling around the camel, giving his famous love-eyes to the three girls. "Are you alright, my lovely ladies ? Don't forget to call me if any of those jackasses bother you."

"Okay..."

* * *

When the sun was setting in the horizon, the pirates decided to install their camp in a rocky formation to be sheltered. Zoro went to hunt some food, which they later ate happily around a much-needed camp fire. It was their first night spent in the desert. Impressions ? Frakingly cold...

Clutched in three tight balls, Eli, Luffy, and Usopp were whining, their hands practically in the camp fire to warm them up.

"Coooold !"

"I'm cold..."

"So cold..."

"I'm fine," Chopper said happily. Of course, if he couldn't handle the heat of the day because of his thick fur, the reindeer was perfectly comfortable at night.

The three frozen pirates looked at him, envy sparkling in their eyes, and without any kind of warning, they dove on the small reindeer, wrapped their arms around him, and rubbed their faces on his fur.

"Heeeeelp !" Chopper whined, begging the other pirates for salvation. However, they obviously didn't care; Ace looked at the scene with amusement, Sanji was swooning over Nami and Vivi, and Zoro was dozing against a rock.

Comfortable at last, Eli, Luffy, and Usopp sighed blissfully within the much enjoyable warmth.

"So soft..."

"So warm..."

"So fluffy..."

Chopper was too small for the three needy pirates, however, and they soon started fighting to get the biggest portion of his warm fur.

"Chopper is mine, I found him first !"

"Eli, you cheater !" Usopp growled. "Your arms are too long !"

"Shut up..." she murmured drowsily, and she soon fell asleep against the delightful fluffiness.

* * *

Only a few hours after dawn, the Straw Hats arrived in Rainbase, the Town of Dreams. Sitting next to the entrance, the pirates were waiting for Luffy and Usopp to return with water before planning a strategy against Crocodile.

"Should we really have let them do it ?" Sanji asked, looking in the direction where the two thirsty boys went.

"It's only a simple errand," Nami said. "They can do it."

"I wonder..." Zoro began gravely. "Don't you think they'll come back with trouble ?"

At that, Ace and Eli looked at each other with wide eyes. Of course... How stupid they had been to trust Luffy with that 'simple errand', for there were very high chances that the boy would come back with trouble. Never mind high chances; it was inevitable.

They didn't even have time to imagine it as Luffy and Usopp came rushing back towards their crewmates, followed by at least a dozen belligerent marines.

"HEY GUYS !" Luffy yelled out. "MARINES ARE COMING !"

_We can see that !_ Eli thought, running away like the rest of the crew.

"WHY DID YOU BRING THEM OVER HERE !" Zoro yelled angrily at his dumb captain.

Unfortunately, since they were running frantically through the streets of Rainbase, the pirates also got the attention of the Baroque Works lackeys stationed there. They plus the marines were quite a lot of enemies to deal with before they could even approach Crocodile.

"Where is Crocodile, Vivi ?" Luffy asked.

"Over there !" the princess yelled, pointing to a large building towering over the rest of the town. "The building with a crocodile on the top, that's his casino !"

_That guy must love crocodiles..._

"Let's split up !" Luffy ordered. "We'll meet up there !"

The pirates nodded and scattered in every direction on the spot, confusing the marines who now didn't know who to run after anymore.

"Eli !" Ace called out, grabbing the girl's waist. "I'm going to jump !"

Even with the warning, a loud gasp escaped Eli's mouth as the flame user propelled the both of them high up in the air, yet she was glad he had had the presence of mind to notify her in advance this time.

From her elevated point of view, Eli could observe that instead of a dozen marines, there was a little army chasing after the pirates, and that they were all led by none other than Smoker, the high-ranked marine they had met in Nanohana. Eli had to admit that the man was highly persistent.

After landing on a building, the pair jumped down into a small alley hidden from view.

"I think we're safe," Eli said, glancing at the street. "Maybe we can mingle quietly into the crowd."

However, turning around to look at her friend, Eli couldn't help but chuckle; with his bright orange hat and his flamey cloak, the young man would hardly go unnoticed.

"Not with that hat, though," she said, taking off his hat.

"What ? Too noticeable ?" Ace asked sarcastically.

"A bit..." With a hearty smile, Eli softly ruffled his shaggy hair that was flattened by the hat. "There, that's bet-"

A squeak escaped her mouth as Ace pushed her against the wall without any apparent reason.

"What ?" Eli asked, her eyes widened in surprise.

"I think... I saw someone..." Ace said quietly, his head resting against the wall next to hers.

"Oh..." Eli looked in the direction of the street but couldn't see anyone from her point of view, and as Ace's head blocked the other side, she guessed their enemies were over there. "They saw us ?"

"I'm not sure..." Ace said in a hoarse whisper.

As his chest was pressed weightily on hers, Eli had some difficulty breathing. She tried to move a bit but found herself completely pinned between the wall and Ace.

"Freckles, you're-"

"Ace," he interrupted, his heated breath blowing softly on her ear. "My name is Ace."

"Eh ?" Of course Eli knew what her friend's name was... What did he mean by that ? "I know that..."

"Then call me by my name, Eli," he said in an even lower voice.

It was only then that Eli noticed it had been a while since Ace had been calling her 'Twig'. Was he getting tired of the use of the nicknames ? Maybe they were too old for that. She liked the nicknames, though, and she was a bit saddened to hear her childhood friend demanding to be called the same way everyone else called him...

"Ace... you're crushing me..." Eli whined.

He took a step back and turned around. "Sorry..."

Eli breathed deeply with a hand on her chest while thinking that Ace really needed to remember that he was way heavier than her when he did things like that.

"Are you okay ?" she asked as he was silently looking at the street.

"Yes." Ace crouched to pick up his hat since Eli had dropped it when the young man had pinned her suddenly against the wall. He dusted it and slipped his head through its strap letting it hang on his back.

"Okay, let's go now !" Eli said cheerfully, walking toward the street.

"We should take separate ways."

"Oh... alright !" She nodded. "Let's meet at the casino then."

Ace nodded silently, and he walked away without even looking at her.

to be continued

* * *

**Betaed by Iwin Ulose.**

_I'm not really satisfied with this chapter, but I like some parts !  
"You're good with aces", that's a good one Usopp ! And poor Ace, Eli has no idea what she's doing to him._

_'Twig' chapter 6 is up. I think you should go read at least this one, might be interesting._

_If you don't care about my life (which I totally understand) you can leave now :)_  
_Thanks for reading, and see you soon !_

* * *

_For the others :  
Tomorrow will be my third month anniversary as a fan-fictionist woohoo !_  
_Three months since I started writing this fic, in fact three months since I started writing at all._  
_With 'Freckles' and 'Twig' I produced over 100 000 words._  
_I'm actually kind of proud to be so wholly committed to this, and this, my dear readers, is thanks to you._  
_I hope I have improved, and that I will keep on improving._

_Special thanks to Iwin Ulose too :)_

_Thank you all for following me, and your support._

_At last, I would like to thank Roy Mustang._  
_A little bit more than three months ago, a rainy day of march, I was looking for screen-caps of the sexy and so annoying flame alchemist (What 'fetish' ? I don't see what you're talking about...) and that's how I came to discover the world of fan-fiction._  
_*bows respectfully*_


	39. Mr Prince

**Chapter 39**  
**Mr. Prince**

Walking casually through the streets of Rainbase, Eli's attention was soon caught by a noisy ruckus. Speeding up her pace, she found Sanji surrounded by half a dozen marines. However, before Eli could join the fun, the cook had already taken care of them with a swift circular kick and was now standing in the middle of the street surrounded by a dozen knocked-out marines with a smirk on his face.

"Hey," Eli called out, waving cheerfully.

Sanji's cool face instantly changed upon seeing Eli walking over to him. "Elisabeth~" He rapidly looked around questioningly. "Where is the shitty cowboy ?" he asked, a dark frown on his face. "Don't tell me he left you all alone !"

"He did..." Eli said, faking sadness playfully. "But you are here now !" She beamed at the happy cook.

"Of course, my lovely Elisabeth~" Sanji replied lovingly, his hands clasped together.

On their way to the casino, they met up with Chopper and a few belligerent marines who ended up knocked out just as easily as the first ones. However, upon seeing the flashy establishment, they also found about four dozen Baroque Works lackeys stationed there, obviously to guard the entrance.

"Don't worry, my dear, I'll protect you," Sanji said, standing in front of Eli.

"Thank you, but..." Eli took off her cloak, jumped up gracefully and took a fighting stance in front of their enemies. "I'd like to have some fun, too, for once." She gave Sanji a mischievous wink before wiping out her opponents one after the other, jumping around and placing perfectly swift kicks and punches. However, most them, disoriented by the girl's speed, ended up hitting and shooting each other under Eli's playful laugh while Sanji and Chopper took care of their share effectively.

It had been a long time since Eli had a fight like that, and she was glad to see that she wasn't too rusty.

After less than five minutes, the place was wiped clean.

"Where are the others ?" Chopper asked.

"Maybe they went in," Eli guessed, her hands resting on her hips.

"Well, let's find out," Sanji said, pointing to a small denden mushi on the floor next to one of the Baroque Works lackeys who still seemed conscious. The cook grabbed it as well as the man and ordered him threateningly to call his boss.

After a few seconds, someone on the other side of the line picked up.

"What ?" a female voice asked. Eli recognized it as Miss All Sunday's.

"Hello ? Hello ?" Sanji looked questioningly at the small denden mushi. "Can you hear me ?"

"Yes, I can," Miss All Sunday replied calmly.

"Hey, is this getting through ?" Sanji asked, talking really close to the denden mushi. "I ain't never used one of these baby denden mushi... Hello ?"

Eli put her hands over her mouth to keep her laughs inside as she watched Sanji turning the snail phone in all directions.

"Hey !" a man barked angrily. "Spit it out already !"

_Ah, if it isn't our dear Mr. Zero..._

"Oh, that voice... I've heard that voice before..." Sanji smiled at Eli; the scene looked just like that time in Little Garden. "Welcome, Sir... this is the Shitty Restaurant."

"Shitty restaurant...?" Crocodile said coldly.

"Nice... you remember," Sanji said. "I'm so happy."

Chopper just looked confused, so Eli told him rapidly what had happened in Little Garden when Sanji and her had impersonated Mr. Three and Miss Goldenweek.

"Who the hell are you ?" Crocodile asked angrily.

"Me ? I'm Mr. Prince."

"I see, Mr. Prince, and where are you ?"

"Can't tell ya !" Sanji grinned. "If I do, you'll come to kill me, won't you ? And you see, I'm not an idiot like you, Mr. Zero."

_Hohoho, he's not gonna like that_, Eli chuckled lightly.

"PRINCE ! SAVE US !" they heard Vivi yell. "We've been captured !"

So their crewmates were there, and apparently not in a good position... Sanji put the denden mushi away and rapidly whispered a plan to Eli and Chopper; he had to lure Crocodile over here, then one of the other two would have to get him away from the casino while Sanji would take care of freeing their captive crewmates.

"Well, it sounds like you got my crew," Sanji said. He grabbed the Baroque Works lackey by the collar. "Very well, I'll just-" He interrupted himself by hitting the man violently, making him utter a loud scream of pain.

"What ? What happened ?" Crocodile barked.

Sanji gave the denden mushi to the barely conscious man and whispered him his lines.

"Haah... what should we do with this weirdo ?" the man said, frightened by the threatening cook.

"Where are you ?" Crocodile asked coldly.

"Yes, Sir... at the front gate of the casino... Sir."

Crocodile laughed loudly; apparently, he had taken the bait quite easily. "I'm coming, don't move !" And he hung up.

"Okay !" Eli put her hands on her hips proudly. "I'll be the bait !"

"No, Elisabeth, this is too dangerous, let Chopper do it," Sanji said resting his hand on the reindeer's shoulder.

"I.. I..." Chopper stammered.

"No way !" Eli whined. "I'm the fastest, I won't get hurt, I promise !"

"With your lovely face, there's no way he'll believe you're me," the love-cook said flirtily.

Eli smirked. "Give me ten seconds !"

In two seconds, Eli ran to a men's clothing store, it took her five seconds to pick a few suits to try them on and choose one dark three-piece, one second to pick a felt hat and leave the money on the counter, and at last two seconds to dash back to her crewmates.

"See ?" Eli swirled around proudly under their amazed gazes. "I'm Mr. Prince."

"You.. you..." Sanji stammered gaping at the girl.

Eli looked like a really attractive young man, and apparently, this sight was highly disturbing for the love-cook.

"Okay, now go." Eli smiled pushing the very dazed love-cook toward the casino.

Sanji looked at her over his shoulder and sighed walking on the bridge that spanned over the lake surrounding the casino.

"And Chopper, go and find us a means of transport."

Eli gave her bag to Chopper and took position right in front of the entrance to wait for Crocodile. Her heart was pounding fast due to excitement and a dash of fear. After all, Crocodile was no ordinary man; he was a Shichibukai, but Eli had confidence in her speed. No one could catch her.

However, she gulped involuntary seeing Miss All Sunday and grabbed the brim of her hat to partially hide her face while hoping that the woman wouldn't recognize her. She was accompanied by a man, and from the look of it, he was Crocodile. He was huge, and for Eli to find someone huge meant he really was. He had a long stitch above his nose, stretching all across his face. The girl felt a shiver running down her spine when her eyes fell on a large and sharp golden hook replacing his left hand, and to finish his badass look, he sported a long, black fur coat worn on his broad shoulders.

"Where is that Mr. Prince ?" Crocodile snarled, grabbing the collar of one of his unconscious lackeys.

"Well, if it isn't my dear Mr. Zero," Eli said smugly using a really low tone of voice. "Or should I call you Crocodile..."

Eli's eyebrows went up questioningly seeing Miss All Sunday chuckling. Apparently, she was amused at the girl's smug behavior toward her boss.

"YOU !" Crocodile's eyes widened in rage as he looked at Eli. "PIECE OF SHIT !"

"Oh, you're not really nice, Crocky," Eli said playfully.

With a loud cry of fury, Crocodile dove toward her transforming the lower part of his body into sand.

Eli started running away, but not too fast so that he wouldn't give up the chase right away.

_So he's a logia, too... _It wasn't so surprising, though; the man was a Shichibukai after all, but it meant that Luffy would have find it difficult to 'beat the crap out of him' like he had said. However, it wasn't the time to bother with these considerations; he was chasing her now and she couldn't let herself get distracted.

"Don't think you can get away from me !" Crocodile yelled, launching his sand-arm toward Eli.

The girl sped up and flung one of his lackeys that stood in her way behind her, making the Shichibukai growl angrily.

Despite all of his multiple failed attempts to catch her, Crocodile kept trying over and over, his face distorted with rage.

After ten minutes of pursuit, Eli decided he was far enough from the casino and disappeared in a flash.

_Hehe... _From the top of a building, Eli chuckled watching Crocodile standing in the middle of the street, looking around wrathfully. Even though the spectacle was highly enjoyable, she had to go back to her crewmates, and she dashed with all haste to the casino.

* * *

Running around the building, Eli soon found her friends emerging from the lake with... Smoker.

_What the hell ?_

"Jeez, these devil fruit users sure are a pain in the ass," Sanji said while he was hitting Luffy's chest, making him spit out a tall stream of water.

"Where is Ace ?" Eli asked, her eyes widened in fear as she couldn't see her friend among the dripping wet pirates.

"Usopp... took care... of... him..." Nami said wearily, between pants.

"USOPP ?" Eli yelled and crouched next to the lake to scan the waters. "Usopp fishing up ACE ?"

Was there any worse choice than the frail long-nosed boy to take care of the very heavy flame user ? Fear grabbed her insides for she couldn't see them in the lake. With a growl, Zoro and Sanji dove back in the lake and came back a few seconds later with Usopp and Ace. Eli helped Zoro drag the unconscious flame user out of the water and knelt next to him to give him a violent cardiac massage.

Usopp crawled out of the lake, panting heavily. "You... should.. give... him... a... mou-"

Of course, Sanji flung the marksman back into the water before he could finish his sentence.

"DAMN ACE !" Eli punched his chest forcibly, and at last, Ace coughed up the water that was in his lungs.

_That was close... _She let out a sigh of relief sitting on her feet shakily. "You scared me there..."

"Yeah..." Ace sat up slowly, and as he looked at Eli, his eyes widened in surprise. "What are you wearing ?"

"What ?" Eli blinked in shock at the young man's reaction as well as his odd priorities. "I'm disguised, duh !"

"Disguised as what ?"

"Mr. Prince..."

"Guys..." Usopp called quietly.

"What the hell ?" Ace barked.

"What are you so angry about ?" Eli's eyebrows went up questioningly as she looked at the flared young man. _Is he... blushing ?_

She had no idea why he was so angry at her; after all, _she _was the one who had worried about him, and _she _was the one had given him a cardiac massage.

"You.. look like a GUY !" Ace's voice rose into a shout.

"That was the point, idiot..." Eli rolled her eyes, annoyed. After all, this disguise suited her way better that the dancer outfit, and his reaction wasn't so heated then.

"Oi guys..." Usopp said again.

"But you're a girl !" Ace frowned and looked away. "Wear girls' clothes !"

"GUYS !" Usopp yelled, making the pair look at him at last. "We have to go," he said calmly, pointing to a bunch of marines running toward them.

While the pirates ran away, Eli looked over her shoulder and saw Smoker standing next to the lake. Why wasn't he attacking them ? Was it because Zoro had saved him...?

"Why did Zoro save Smoker ?" Eli asked Ace.

"How the hell should I know ?" Ace replied sharply.

"Oh god... would you _please _tell me why you are so angry ?" Eli frowned at him while he carefully averted her gaze.

"You wouldn't understand, anyway..."

"Are you calling me DUMB ?"

And the quarrel went on, and on... and on...

* * *

"HEY GUYS !" Chopper yelled happily.

_What the..._

Once they had reached the outskirts of the city of Rainbase, the pirates were welcomed by Chopper riding a giant crab. It was large as a house and had a large patch of moss covering its back. The creature walked sideways at an amazing speed and sported a grin all over its face. The crab was so huge and the fact that the little doctor was riding it was so surprising that his crewmates gaped for a few seconds before yelling in bewilderment.

"CHOPPER !"

"A CRAB ?"

"Damn, that looks tasty !" Luffy said, drooling as he watched the giant crab with wide eyes.

The most amazed, though, was surprisingly Vivi. She explained to the pirates that moving crabs always moved under the sand, and therefore, most of the people of Alabasta didn't believe they even existed. How lucky they were, and that was all thanks to Eyelashes who apparently had many friends in this area including the giant crab.

Without wasting any more time, the pirates climbed onto the crab, and Chopper, who was holding the reins, gave the signal for departure shouting happily.

However, right after the crab started moving, Vivi screamed as she was taken away by a large hook.

_Crocodile !_ Time went in slow motion as Eli gritted her teeth dashing toward the desperate princess. Their fingers brushed, Eli thought for a split second that he had her... but Vivi kept drifting away inexorably.

"VIVI !" Luffy yelled, stretching his arm to grab the hook.

With a loud gasp from Vivi, he flung the princess back onto the crab. Eli caught her, her eyes widened in fear as she looked at Luffy for she knew what he was going to do...

"LUFFY !" the pirates cried out, watching their captain being taken away from them by Crocodile.

"You guys go ahead !" Luffy said. "Get Vivi to the palace !"

"Luffy, you IDIOT !" Ace yelled angrily, frowning at his little brother and dashing to join him.

"NO ACE !" Luffy interrupted. "I'll be fine by myself !"

Ace clenched his fists staring at his little brother; he was obviously torn between his duty to follow his order and the urge to protect him. However, Luffy was the one who wanted to defeat Crocodile. Ever since the boy had heard of him, he had assigned himself as his opponent, and Ace respected that.

"Head straight to Alubarna, Chopper !" Zoro ordered.

"LUFFY !" Vivi cried out, fear in her wide blue eyes.

"He'll be fine," Eli said quietly, holding the princess tightly. "He's gonna be okay..."

The truth was that Eli was terrified for Luffy. The idea of losing him was so unbearable that she needed to convince herself as much as Vivi. She gritted her teeth seeing that Luffy was just a mere shadow in the horizon.

"I feel more sorry for them," Nami said, and even if she smiled, her anxiousness was obvious. "There isn't one single person who's tried to fight Luffy and gotten away safely !"

Eli vaguely heard words of encouragement coming from the whole crew, even Usopp, who was shivering like a leaf trying to cheer up the princess, telling her not to worry.

"LUFFY !" Vivi yelled her lungs out. "We'll be waiting for you in Alubarna !"

"OKAY !"

_You have to be okay, Luffy... If something happens to you, I don't know what I'll do..._ Even though the princess sounded better now, Eli kept holding her tight. The girl was drowning in uncertainty. She had already lost so much, but she's always managed to get up and live on. Now she had a new family and new friends, and she knew how precious they were... and how fragile life was...

to be continued

* * *

**Betaed by Iwin Ulose.**

_Do you have an idea why Ace is mad at Eli ? :)_

_Edit : Damn ! Totally forgot that I did (rushed) an illustration of Eli in her suit. It's in my profile.  
_

* * *

_Yokon : Oh come on... Still anonymous ? I won't bite you know... Just e-mail me so that I won't have to wait 2 days to reply (and annoy everyone)._  
_And constructive criticism doesn't hurt (like your first review), I would even say that I'll welcome those reviews._  
_But clearly implying that my story has bad characters, a bad pacing and is baldly written is hardly constructive and it hurts._  
_I did take your rating criticism into account and changed into T (too bad there isn't a T+ or something), and I'm trying my best to improve for the rest everyday but those things take time. I think (I hope) that I have improved in the past 3 months but advices would really help because I have absolutely no experience in writing and just saying "this and that" are bad doesn't help me enough... sorry._  
_Since you're taking your time to write those long reviews, I think you could e-mail me. Right ? I promise I won't reveal your identity publicly._


	40. Miracles

**Chapter 40**  
**Miracles**

"I'm alright now, Eli," Vivi said as she tried to pull away from the girl who was still hanging onto the princess as if her life depended on it.

"You really look like a guy hugging Vivi like that," Usopp said mockingly.

"Haha..." Eli let go of the princess forcing a smile on her face before turning around to look at the desert scenery rapidly scrolling by. The girl's mind was still filled with fear, for she couldn't help but replay the image of Luffy getting taken away from his crew by Crocodile over and over again in her mind...

The chronicler wasn't the only one shaken by Luffy's absence; despite his stupid mockery, Usopp was glancing nervously in the direction of Rainbase, Ace was sitting on the crab's edge his eyes lost in the distance, Zoro was weight-lifting Eyelashes sitting on one of his katana which of course caused Sanji to mock him scornfully, while Nami was pacing up and down like a caged animal glaring at the two young men's argument.

The anxiousness was palpable and heavy on the pirates' minds...

"Are you alright, Eli ?" Vivi asked, looking worriedly at her friend's face.

Eli nodded with half a smile. Speaking her mind would only make the whole group feel worse... She therefore chose to keep her anxiousness inside like the rest of them. Eli loosened her tie slowly while trying to find something to focus her attention on. The desert was bare, though... nothing but sand and sometimes some rocky formations; nothing that could manage to lessen the anxiety pounding on the girl's mind.

"Hey," Nami greeted, joining the girls' corner, probably in search for entertainment to change her mind. "You look really good in that suit."

"Thanks," Eli said. She was glad to have something to get her mind off of her worries, even if it was just a frivolous chat.

It was nice to hear someone praising her outfit; after all, it took her five whole seconds to pick it, and that was quite a lot for the fast girl. With a light blush on her face Eli smiled at redhead; she was obviously not used to receiving compliments and the fact that it was Nami made her even more glad yet embarrassed since she wasn't usually generous with compliments, especially toward the boyish Eli.

"Really cute." Nami smiled, lifting the girl's chin.

"Melorine melorine melorine~"

_Eh ?_ Eli turned her head to look at Sanji as she couldn't quite believe what she was hearing... and indeed, he was in his melo-trance with all the symptoms that came with it: wide heart-shaped eyes, wriggling limbs, goofy smile, etc..._ But Why ?_ During the months spent with the perv-cook, Eli had made some observations and experiments over his 'love fits' and she had never thought that the sight of a girl complimenting another one could be one of his triggers.

She looked at Nami and concluded that the redhead was probably an expert with these kinds of things, and Eli inwardly admired her skills.

"Maybe I could keep this style permanent," Eli said playfully.

"NO !" Ace barked, startling the two girls on the spot.

"Oh god... you scared me..." Eli breathed, her hand on her chest as his sudden reaction made her heart skip a beat. "What's wrong with-"

Eli was interrupted as Nami put a finger on her lips while smiling mischievously at the flame user.

"NAMI !" Ace shouted angrily, blasting a burning glare at the roguish redhead.

"Oh..." Nami said quietly, her smirk growing wider. She stood up slowly and walked past Ace. "Good luck with that..."

Eli watched in awe as Nami walked away with a highly sexy gait and Ace stared at her. _Wow..._ The redhead was really good, but then again, with her nice body, anyone could fall for her charms, even the great womanizer Ace was.

Seeing him sit down grumbling unintelligible words, Eli chuckled and decided to join him to clear her mind in the company of her dear friend.

"She gotcha good," Eli said playfully, sitting down next to him.

"Oh, come on..." Ace growled, bringing his hands to his forehead. "I can't deal with you right now."

"What ! ... Why ?" Eli blinked questioningly looking at the young man who was obviously avoiding her gaze.

Ace did not answer... He stayed there silently, an angry frown on his partly hidden face. Eli was puzzled and sad to see him like this. Was he aware that he was hurting his friend ? Right now, she needed him to cheer her up more than ever. With Luffy gone, the girl was racked with doubt and fear, and now the older brother was mad at her for an unknown reason... Eli just felt lost looking at her dear friend who obviously couldn't stand her presence.

"I don't understand, Freck- I mean, Ace..." Eli corrected herself remembering his previous demand to be called by his name. "I thought things were great between us lately..."

Ace closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, making anxiousness grow inside of her. Did she do something to hurt him ? That was never her purpose, though...

"They are," he finally said, but the annoyance in his voice was hardly convincing.

"Why are you mad at me then ?" Eli asked. "Is it the outfit ? I can take it off if you hate it that much !"

"It's not the outfit, Eli..."

"What is it then ?" Eli asked sadly. "You say you can't deal with me right now, but I need you now..."

"You..." Ace briskly turned his head toward her and sighed looking at her sad face. "You really want to know ?"

"Yes."

"Now ?"

"Yes !"

After a few seconds of intense gazing, the young man looked away.

"Tell me..." Eli said softly, cupping his cheeks in her hands and turning his face back to confront hers.

His dark eyes diving deeply into hers, Eli couldn't manage to decrypt the look on her friend's face.

_What's wrong, Ace ? _

It was then that Eli noticed that the rest of the crew was awfully quiet; the only sounds heard were the crawling of the giant crab's legs on the sand and the breath of Zoro heaving his homemade weigh. She turned her head and looked puzzled when she saw them; except for the swordsman, they were all staring at Ace and her, Usopp and Nami holding a struggling Sanji.

_What the hell ?_

The nosy pirates swung around on the spot, pretending to resume their conversations quite confusedly. With an annoyed sigh, Eli turned around and folded her arms. Maybe right now wasn't a good moment if Ace had something serious to tell her...

_Damn !_

* * *

"WHAT ?"

Eli's eyes cracked open trying to endure the harsh light of the sun still high in the sky.

"THIS CRAB CAN'T CROSS WATER ?" Usopp yelled, his mouth wide open and his orbs popping out of their sockets.

Turning her head backwards, Eli saw her crewmates studying the map of Alabasta anxiously.

"And it'll take all day to float across the Sandora," Vivi said. "Once we cross the river, it's still around 100 kilometers until we reach Alubarna."

And they didn't have a day to waste; the civil war was about to break out in less than four hours.

_Great... _Eli thought wryly. The girl was in a bad, a really bad mood. The nosy pirates, the hunger, her lack of understanding of Ace's behavior, the length of the day that kept stretching, the thirst... And the terrible headache hammering in her head wasn't helping her cheer up. Anger was still much more bearable than anxiety, though...

"LOOK ! SANDORA UP AHEAD !" Usopp yelled, horror plastered all over his face.

_Would you just..._ "SHUT UP !" Eli cried out, wincing at her own loudness.

She sat up, and while rubbing her fingers against her pounding temples in slow circular motions, Eli rapidly studied the situation. From what she had managed to hear, Scissors, the giant crab, couldn't move in water, and they had to cross the Sandora to keep on with their journey... Therefore, they were pretty much _screwed_

With a deep sigh, Eli slumped down onto her back holding her aching forehead. Seeing Ace glancing at her, she glared at him in annoyance. _Mind your own business, Portgas... _Closing her eyes Eli wished that this day was already over.

"I know !" Chopper said cheerfully. "Scissors loves dancers."

Nami stood up and took off her cloak, revealing her nice dancer outfit enhancing her perfect body. "Like this ?"

The pervy crab turned his eyes to check out the voluptuous redhead with heart-shaped eyes. Of course, he was soon joined by Sanji swooning over Nami. Apparently, the sight of the sexy dancer-navigator gave the crab a rush seeing how his speed increased tremendously. He reached the river and kept running hypnotized by Nami. The creature was so fast that he actually managed to run _on _the water. Eli huffed in annoyance. Apparently, she wasn't the only one to be able to do that...

"It's a miracle !" Usopp screamed, awed at the crab's achievement.

"No, wait !"

After about a hundred meters, the crab started rapidly sinking in the water...

Eli stood up briskly as the reality of the situation hit her on the spot. "SAVE ME !" she yelled frantically before going under the water.

Still conscious but completely unable to order her body to move, Eli sunk watching Chopper and Ace in the same state as her. Fortunately, after a few seconds, she saw Sanji swimming to save her. He grabbed her waist and propelled the both of them out of the water with his powerful legs. At the moment they emerged from the river, Eli coughed up the salty water while Sanji hit her back repeatedly.

"Are you alright ?" Sanji asked.

Eli nodded and looked around; Zoro had fished Ace up and Usopp was taking care of Chopper, a much better repartition of the tasks than before in her opinion. Seeing them, Eli couldn't help but agree with Sanji's previous statement; devil fruit users were really a pain in the ass.

"Sorry..." Eli said weakly, holding onto the cook's neck.

"Don't worry." Sanji smiled before installing the girl onto his back.

After waving Scissors goodbye, the pirates began to swim through the salty river even though they couldn't see the other shore.

"Wait a sec, how far to reach the other side ?" Usopp asked Vivi, Chopper resting on his head.

"About 50 km."

"We can't swim that !" he yelled in shock.

"Quit complaining and keep moving," Zoro said sharply, Ace attached to his back.

Eli chuckled wearily watching the usually arrogant flame user holding on tight to the swordsman's neck. He looked so stupid, she couldn't help it. Sanji must have caught her stare as he started laughing, too, making the two young men grumble in unison.

Oddly, the dangerous situation she was in caused Eli to cheer up a bit. Nestling her chin on Sanji's shoulder, she sighed happily enjoying the swimming sensation. She was suddenly reminded of the time when Ace took her on a swim...

"What is it, Elisabeth ?" Sanji asked.

"I just remembered something nice..." she began softly, a hearty smile on her face. "Years ago... a sweet boy gave me one of the best birthday presents ever..." Eli closed her eyes to let her mind recollect the memories of her sixteenth birthday.

Unfortunately, her rêverie was interrupted as an enormous fish arose from the water right in front of them.

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAH" Usopp screamed, almost making Chopper fall into the river.

"It's a Sandora Catfish !" Vivi yelled. "It's extremely rare !"

But the pirates didn't care if it was rare or not as the fish opened his giant mouth and began to chase them.

"It also loves to eat humans !" she finished. Like always, Vivi kept the most important information for the end...

With a loud scream of terror, the group swam away frantically but the catfish was in his element. He was therefore way too fast and closing in inexorably. Eli tried to hold on tight to Sanji's neck, but the water had drained her of all energy and she felt like she was just a puppet in the fate's hands. The sound of the catfish closing in threateningly made her heartbeat increase tremendously. The day was hardly over, yet Eli was already reaching her limits as the roller coaster the pirates were on pushed them to the limit of their sanity.

"KUOOOO !"

_Kuo ?_ Turning around, the pirates gaped seeing the kung fu dugongs kicking the fish's ass in no time flat.

It was amazing to see how the Straw Hats had been relying on all sorts of animals to help them through their quest in Alabasta, and also amazing to see how they constantly seemed to escape death one split second before it was too late... The lucky pirates mounted the knocked-out catfish to use it as a means of transport while the dugongs dragged it to take the pirates to the other side of the river.

Eli took off her vest to dry it faster and lay down on the catfish's back to regain her energy, while gazing lazily at the cloud-less sky. However, as Ace sat down next to her, she sat up slowly while looking at him questioningly. Was he done sulking ? Eli suppressed her frown, gathered up her patience, and turned to face her companion with a friendly smile.

"How can I help you ?"

"I'm sorry Eli," Ace said after a few seconds of silence. "I was stupid and... I'm sorry."

Well, that was something already, but hardly enough for Eli as she needed explanation about his puzzling behavior.

"Very well," she said calmly. "Will you tell me _why _you were mad at me ?"

Ace sighed leaning back using his arms for support and looked at the clear blue sky. "Not now... It's not the right time..."

_Not the right time ?_ Eli's eyebrows went up in puzzlement at the young man's mysterious answer, but still she waited patiently as it seemed that he hadn't finished talking yet.

"We're going to face some tricky enemies and..." Ace paused, and lowered his head to look at her deeply. "If something happens..."

"You're going all sentimental now ?" Eli rolled her eyes. Her friend's behavior was really a mystery to her. Harsh and even insulting, then distant, and at last, worried.

With half a smile Ace grabbed her waist, pulled her toward him and sighed deeply. "Shut up... idiot," he said quietly.

"... _You're_ the idiot," Eli pouted, yet she was happy to see that Ace wasn't mad at her anymore... even though she still had no idea why he was in the first place...

* * *

In less than an hour, the pirates had reached the other side of the shore thanks to the dugongs, who apparently wanted to help their 'fellow students'. Considering Luffy as their teachers was so highly comical for Ace and Eli that they burst in laughter, picturing Luffy teaching them something.

As soon as the pirates set foot on the ground, they started their hike because time was running out and they only had a few hours before the two armies clashed in Alubarna. Vivi was rightly anxious; they were really on a tight schedule. Eli had thought of the possibility to take the princess with her, but then how would they deal with the Baroque Works agents who would be obviously waiting for them in Alubarna ?

No, they needed to all get there together. The pirates hastened their pace, hoping for a miracle... again.

A few minutes later, the group looked anxiously in the direction of a stampede getting louder by the second. Were enemies already here to welcome them ?

"It's... the 'Super Spot-billed Duck Squad' !" Vivi yelled cheerfully.

"The _what _?" Eli's eyes widened seeing seven large ducks dashing over to them. She quickly recognized Caru among them.

"The 'Super Spot-billed Duck Squad' !" Vivi repeated, hugging Caru. "It's the fastest troop of Alabasta."

They all wore different head gears which made them extremely cute. Of course, Eli felt complied to greet each of them with a hug while thanking them for helping the pirates. With their help, the group would be able to reach Alubarna in no time. They had hoped for a miracle and got blessed with a damn cute-looking one.

Now, the group also still needed a plan of action to face the officer agents of Baroque Works. Vivi drew a map of Alubarna; the town was situated on a high plateau and was surrounded by five gates. The pirates were going to arrive by the west side of the city, and therefore, the closest entrance was the West Gate and the Baroque Works agents would probably wait for them there.

The plan was for the pirates to get the Baroque Works agents' attention so that the princess could stop the rebels in front of the South Gate.

For that purpose, they hid their identities, covering themselves with white cloaks, making them hardly recognizable. They all mounted a different duck, except for Vivi and Eli who mounted Caru together. Eli served as a guaranty; if Vivi would arrive too late, the devil fruit user would have to take the princess as fast as she could to the palace to contact the royal army.

Before leaving, the pirates gathered in a circle and held their left arm forward, showing their proof of friendship to give themselves courage.

"TO ALUBARNA !"

to be continued

* * *

**Betaed by Iwin Ulose.**

_Poor Eli, she doesn't get it at all... And those nosy ones, who just ruin everything !  
Hopefully now everything is good and yeah, to Alubarna !_

_See you soon :)_


	41. The Longest Day

**Chapter 41**  
**The Longest Day **

Hiding behind a large rock, Vivi and Eli watched their friends effectively lure all the Baroque Works agents inside the city of Alubarna. The chronicler hoped for their safety, but she had a mission of her own to worry about. They _all _had a mission, and she trusted them above all. Therefore, Eli put her doubts aside and focused on her goal.

Once the pirates had disappeared in the city, Caru dashed over to the South Gate. The two girls got off him and apprehensively watched the enormous cloud of sand made by the rebels' army rushing toward Alubarna.

"Go, Caru !" Eli ordered.

The duck looked at the two girls anxiously; he was obviously worried for his precious princess, yet there was nothing he could do anymore, and she was in good hands.

"Don't worry," Eli said patting the duck's head. "I'll take care of the princess."

"Quack !" Caru nodded before fleeing toward Alubarna.

As the rebels came within hearing range, the ground trembling under the massive stampede, Vivi spread her arms and took a large intake of air.

"STOP, REBELS !" she yelled her lungs out. "THIS FIGHT HAS BEEN SET UP !"

She was about to repeat her call when a large explosion created a wall of smoke right between the girls and the rebels. Eli and Vivi looked over their shoulders. It seemed that the explosive had been launched from the royal side. But why ? It was obvious then that Baroque Works had also infiltrated the army; Crocodile held all the cards in his hands. It was his game, his rules, and it seemed that whoever tried to stand against him didn't have even the remotest chance...

"Who would do such a thing...?" Vivi muttered desperately.

Now the rebels' vision was completely blocked, and if they stayed there, the two girls would get trampled...

As the sound of the rebels' stampede became louder, Eli grabbed the princess to get her to safety as there was nothing more she could do from here anymore.

"NO !" Vivi yelled before turning to face the shadows of the rebels. "PLEASE STOP EVERYONE !" she cried out, her face distorted in horror.

"Vivi !" Eli grabbed the princess's waist, avoiding a horse at the last moment.

"Defeat the king for the sake of the country !" the rebel leader yelled. He had obviously failed to hear the princess.

"LEADEEEER !" Vivi screamed in Eli's arms.

Despite her speed, Eli barely dodged the rebels as the cloud of sand impaired her vision. During a moment of calm, she managed to get Vivi on her back, sidestepping right in front of the rushing horses. Jostled violently but still standing, Eli was in a state of concentration she had never experienced before, moving around constantly to dodge the horses for what seemed like an eternity.

When the number of the rushing rebels started to decrease at last, Eli dashed to a safer place and collapsed on the sand, her tensed muscles twitching painfully, while Vivi was on her knees watching the fight from afar with a devastated look on her face.

"The rebellion has begun..." she muttered, incredulous.

Eli looked sadly at the desperate princess; she had put so much hope into stopping the rebellion in time, and now it was clashing before her blue watery eyes...

"That's why we can't give up now !" Eli stoop up shakily and frowned down at the princess.

No, they couldn't give up hope now; their friends were already fighting, and the two girls had to go on because it wasn't over yet. In fact, it wasn't over at all. Eli had confidence that they would succeed; she could feel it in her guts. Maybe it was just foolishness. Maybe she was just lying to herself. But in any case, they _had _to go on.

She reached out her hand to help Vivi stand up and turned around to offer her back to climb on. With a firm nod, Vivi climbed on and wrapped her arms and legs around the chronicler's thin body.

"WAIT !"

The girls' heads snapped in the direction of Usopp coming at them riding a horse.

"Usopp !" they both yelled in unison, happy to see their friend unharmed.

"Don't carry her, I'll take her on my horse," he said. "It'll be faster."

"Faster ?" Eli raised an eyebrow at the marksman, wondering why he was insulting her in such a serious situation.

"Wait," Vivi said, getting off Eli. "Prove yourself, Usopp," she said sharply.

"Are you doubting me ?" Usopp said, showing the bandage tied around his forearm.

The girls' eyes widened instantly in fear.

_Frak !_

Gritting her teeth, Eli jumped high up in the air and gave Usopp a swift aerial kick sending him a few meters away, and Vivi got on her back right away. The both of them dashed over to the city.

"Thanks, Vivi," Eli said. "If it wasn't for you, I would have been completely tricked."

The chronicler inwardly complimented Zoro, too. His plan was perfect and Mr. Two had fallen for it easily, showing only the bandage and not the cross hidden beneath it...

"If you run straight ahead, you'll get stuck on the staircases !" Mr. Two, who had taken his own face back, laughed scornfully.

_Damn !_

The drag-queen was right; the war was already raging there, and if the girls went that way, they would get stuck in the thick crowd.

"Vivi," Eli said with a serious face. "I hope you trust me."

"I..." Vivi's eyes widened seeing the girl running straight toward the cliff face. "I trust you, Eli !" she yelled.

_And I trust me, too !_ Eli gritted her teeth and sped up, and, taking an utter leap of faith, she ran up the cliff as fast as she could.

_Wow..._

"That's amazing, Eli !" Vivi said cheerfully, watching down. "I'm sure Mr. Two won't catch-"

"GIVE ME THE PRINCESS !" Mr. Two yelled, running up the cliff as well.

"Rah ! Annoying bastard !" Eli held Vivi's legs tightly behind her. "Let's go !"

The girls could see the palace straight ahead, but to get there, they had to go through the battlefield.

Eli closed her eyes and took a deep intake of air, concentrating deeply on her mind to accelerate her whole self. It was a move that the fruit user kept for desperate situations since it drained her of all her strength. Opening her eyes again, the world around her had gone into slow motion. She advanced carefully avoiding the warriors, their swords, the bodies lying on the floors, and the stray bullets. Glancing rapidly over her shoulder, Eli saw Mr. Two lagging far behind. His movements were so slow to her eyes that it made her smile smugly.

A split second later, they appeared in the palace's courtyard startling the royal soldiers who surrounded them on the spot.

"Thank you, Eli," Vivi said with a smile.

"You're...wel...come..." Eli managed to say before collapsing to the ground wearily.

"Who are you ?" the soldiers yelled, pointing their weapons at the girls

Vivi straightened up in a dignified manner. "Go get Chaka !" she ordered sharply.

"Princess VIVI !" The soldiers gasped in bewilderment.

* * *

The royal soldiers gave Eli some welcomed food and water that she wolfed down while listening to Vivi and Chaka's discussion.

Chaka was one of the two head guards of the Alabastan Kingdom. He was a tall, dark-skinned man with mid-length black hair and a broad long nose.

"Are you mad, Princess Vivi ?" Chaka yelled. "If we do that-"

"Then what ?" Vivi interrupted calmly. "Will the country end ?" She shook her head. "_This _isn't Alabasta, is it ?"

_That princess really has guts_, Eli thought, nibbling on a piece of bread.

"The country of Alabasta is its people !" Vivi said loudly so that all the soldiers could hear. "We must stop this battle at all costs." She paused a few seconds and raised her head up high. "PLEASE DESTROY THIS PALACE !"

A rumor of disapprobation rose withing the royal army, begging Chaka to ignore the princess's request while the King was away, but Vivi kept a straight face, looking gravely into the man's eyes.

Chaka knelt down before his princess. "Do according to what the princess demands !" he ordered.

* * *

"Eli," Vivi called out softy, tapping the drowsy girl's shoulder.

"Mmh ?" Eli rubbed her eyes. "Ah sorry ! I fell asleep ?"

_Damn ! Did I just say that ?_ Eli scolded herself inwardly for this involuntary Aceness.

"It's okay." Vivi smiled. "I wondered if you could go see if the others are okay? I'm worried."

"But I have to protect you, Vivi." Eli stood up dizzily.

"The palace is safe, don't worry."

Eli pondered the girl's request for a few seconds. She had to admit she was worried about her crewmates, too. Plus, the princess had hundreds of soldiers to protect her. Therefore, Eli accepted and, without waiting, walked out of the palace.

Using the small streets to avoid the confrontations, Eli found Nami and Zoro a few minutes later. They both looked badly injured especially, the swordsman; his chest was bleeding heavily, but somehow he was carrying Nami on his back.

Eli bit her bottom lip, imagining what they had gone through to end up in that state. She felt guilty to be so unarmed next to them.

"Hey," she called out. "Are you alright ?"

"Yes," Nami replied. "Where is Vivi ?"

"She's in the palace," Eli said reassuringly. "She asked me to check if you were okay."

Nami sighed smiling. "She still worries about us..."

The three of them sped up to go to the palace where they were supposed to meet up with the rest of the crew. A few minutes later, they arrived in front of the palace.

"USOPP !" Nami got off Zoro and hit the long-nosed boy with her staff. "Who asked you to make a party toy ?" she yelled angrily.

"But... it worked..." Usopp stammered, scrambling away from the furious redhead.

Eli had no idea what they were talking about, but she dashed over to the marksman's side, worried as the boy was bandaged all over.

"What happened, Usopp ?" Eli asked with wide eyes. "Are you okay ?"

"Please bury me in the wilderness..." Usopp said with a dying voice.

Eli sighed in relief and looked around to make sure everyone else was okay as well. Apart from bruises or heavier wounds, the pirates were all there, very much alive.

_Luffy !_ Eli's lips curled up seeing that the boy was there, too.

"Sorry I lost to that guy once..." he said, his arms stretched all the way to the ramparts of the palace. "But this time, I can't lose."

The pirates smirked, looking at their captain.

"I'll finish it now," Luffy said gravely. "All of it !"

"ALRIGHT !" they yelled in unison, watching Luffy launching himself upwards.

* * *

"A BOMB ?" the pirates yelled in shock as Vivi told them that Crocodile had set up a cannon to launch a bomb at four o'clock to explode in the center of the city. The range of the blast was supposed to destroy everything within five kilometers.

"Yes, and we've only got ten minutes to find it," Vivi said gravely.

"We'd better hurry, then," Ace said.

Without wasting anymore time, the pirates scattered in all directions to look for the cannon.

Eli entered every house she saw and checked every floor with all haste, but the city was so big... it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Frowning, the chronicler scolded herself. She couldn't let herself loose faith; the lives of a million people were at stake.

Yet time was running out, fast. Looking at the city's clock tower, Eli gritted her teeth seeing that they only had 2 minutes left.

_Damn !_

Eli was about to check another house when a column of smoke rising up in the sky caught her attention. It was the signal that someone had found the bomb.

She dashed over there in a few seconds.

"Where... is... it ?" Eli asked between pants.

"ELI !" Vivi yelled happily. "It's in the clock tower !"

"Let's go... then," Eli said, before turning her back for the princess to climb on. "Guide me !"

1 minute left.

Vivi navigated Eli through small side streets of Alubarna to avoid the fights. After a few wrong turns, they arrived at the clock tower.

30 seconds.

Eli climbed up the stairs, lots of stairs... The girl was starting to get extremely tired, but she couldn't falter. Gritting her teeth, she gathered up the rest of her strength trying to ignore the excruciating pain in her legs.

_Almost there..._

25

Entering the clock-room, Eli and Vivi were welcomed by two Baroque Works agent pointing fancy guns at them. Vivi got off Eli and the two of them rushed towards their opponents with a frantic war cry. As the clock tower was open, they flung them out before they could even react.

The two girls didn't have time to rejoice, though; the cannon's wick was burning up already. Vivi twirled her slasher around her finger and cut it effectively.

Slumping on the ground, they sighed deeply, their lips curling up in a smile, until...

"It's still ticking !" Vivi said, standing up to look at the cannon. "No..." she whispered with horrified eyes.

The princess swung around and looked downwards at the pirates. "IT'S A TIMED BOMB !" she yelled.

10

_Of course..._

9

Eli grabbed the bomb and grinned at the desperate princess.

8

"Be right back !" Eli disappeared in a flash leaving a stunned Vivi behind.

7

As she got out of the building, Eli took a split second to look at her crewmates moving in slow motion, and she smiled again.

6

Adrenaline rushing through her veins, Eli didn't feel the pain in her legs anymore... She was gliding on the sand with a large grin still plastered on her face.

5

_I can do this._

4

Eli looked back to watch the small shape of the city shrinking fast.

3

_I can do this !_

2

After putting the bomb on the sand, Eli dashed away as fast as her body still could.

1

Eli saw the face of her father in her mind._ "You did good, Elisabeth," he said proudly. "You did real good."_

0

The huge explosion blasted Eli away, her ears teared from the inside by the deafening sound of the detonation.

After a few seconds, she rolled on her back wearily and started laughing nervously.

"I DID IT !" she yelled ecstatically, hurling her trembling fists in the air.

Eli couldn't rejoice on her own, though; she wanted to see her friends. Yet when she tried to stand up, her head started spinning and Eli fell back on the sand with a muffled thud, making the girl laugh at her own clumsiness before standing up again, slower.

As the adrenaline started to leave her system, Eli felt an intense pain in her ears. She brought her hands to her aching ears and winced seeing blood on her fingers, but that didn't matter. Eli started walking toward the city to meet up with her crewmates. However, she had already used more energy than she actually had and was now running solely on her guts.

After a few minutes, Eli came to a stop near the entrance of Alubarna as she felt raindrops falling on her. Looking up, she smiled seeing the stormy sky. The war was coming to an end, and after three years, the Alabastans were blessed with a cleansing rain.

Carrying on with her walk, Eli was gazing up at the sky. She looked like a child capering gleefully under the summer rain. She took off her vest and threw it carelessly on the ground, welcoming the rain's freshness with a blissful smile.

Focused on the sky and the gentle sensation of the fresh rain on her heated skin, Eli wasn't aware of Ace running frantically toward her. A loud gasp escaped her mouth as she felt his broad arms grabbing her all of a sudden.

"ACE !" she yelled in bewilderment.

The flame user was holding her tightly as if his life depended on it.

"YOU'RE CRUSHING ME," Eli yelled, unaware of her own loudness.

Ace pulled away but still held her shoulders firmly. Eli saw his lips move but couldn't hear his voice as her aching ears were filled with a loud ringing sound. However, she could see the look on his face; her friend looked so desperately happy. Eli had never seen him like that, but she thought that from his point of view, the scene must have been quite scary... learning that the bomb was going to explode no matter what, and then, a few seconds later, seeing the explosion kilometers away. He must have known then that it was her doing.

"I CAN'T HEAR YOU," Eli said, giving him a reassuring smile.

Even if she was deaf, she could still manage to read the 'What ?' on his lips, and the confused look on his face only confirmed what she thought.

"THE EXPLOSION, IT WAS SO LOUD, I'M DEAF." Eli tried to be as cheerful as possible, yet it was somehow hard to give intonations to her voice since she couldn't hear it.

She saw his lips forming some unreadable words before laughing, apparently quite loudly.

"THAT'S NOT FUNNY," she pouted, frowning at the laughing young man, water dripping from her bangs onto her angry face.

His laughter died quickly to be replaced by a warm smile. Ace brought his hand to her cheek and said something again, his thumb brushing her wet skin tenderly.

"I CAN'T HEAR YOU," Eli said angrily. "ARE YOU DEAF, TOO ?"

Ace wrapped his arms around her and securely pulled her chest up against his.

With a sigh, Eli smiled heartily returning his embrace. She must have really scared the hell out of him, so she couldn't blame him for his nearly choking hug.

After a minute, Ace pulled away, and the two pirates ran to meet up with their other crewmates.

Upon reuniting, the whole pirate crew smiled in relief looking at each other. It was finally over. The longest day of their lives had, at last, come to an end, and everyone was fine. Luffy was apparently sleeping, but alive nonetheless.

The Straw Hats fainted on the ground simultaneously, hearty smiles on their faces...

to be continued

* * *

**Betaed by Iwin Ulose.**

_At last you can see Eli being actually useful. As you can see I did not create a new BW agent for her (or stole someone else's opponent) I hope you're not disappointed. _

_Yes. I know. Eli 'stole' Pell's sacrifice... But since he didn't really die (quite surprisingly) I felt that it wasn't really major. Also no Straw Hat's epicness at the clock-tower... but even if it wasn't for Eli, Ace could have propelled himself up there so... Don't be mad please ! After all it resulted in a nice hug under the rain. Right ?_

_Look forward to the next chapter ! It is calm at last and I hope you'll like what I planned for our lovely pair ;) _

_And for those who haven't read it yet, 'Twig' 7 had been published :)_


	42. Awakening

**Chapter 42  
Awakening**

Opening slowly her heavy eyelids from what seemed like a very very long, dreamless night, Eli took time to study her surroundings. She was lying on a comfortable bed, in a huge room illuminated by the gentle moonlight piercing through tall windows. From the look of it she guessed that she was in the palace of Alubarna. As she rolled sluggishly her heavy head on each side a soft smile appeared on her face seeing that her all fellow crewmates were there, sleeping peacefully.

After a minute Eli slipped out of her bed quietly, and looked questioningly at her outfit; she was wearing a long linen robe and looking at the rest of the Straw Hats she noticed that they all wore the same. Carefully she tiptoed out of the room, and once she had slowly closed the door Eli stretched out her arms with a long-drawn moan of deliverance. It felt so damn good, that it made her wonder for how long she had been sleeping. Her muscles were so numb that she decided to walk a bit to stretch them.

Strolling aimlessly through the sleeping palace the chronicler admired the beauty of the corridors adorned with luxurious friezes all along the walls. As she came by a large window leading to a balcony Eli was drawn to the view. Leaning against the balustrade, she rested her chin in her hands, and gazed at the city of Alubarna with a warm smile on her face. Even if it was damaged, the city was still there, standing proudly, magnificently. Like several hundred years ago, the majestic and white buildings reflected the moonlight brightly. The architecture was unknown to the chronicler who was gazing at the capital in awe and she couldn't wait to walk through the streets, watch the Alabastans freed at last and soak in their happiness.

"AAAAH" Eli's heart skipped a beat feeling someone tapping her shoulder jerking her out of her thoughts.

She swung around briskly, and brought her hand to her chest sighing in relief seeing Ace standing behind her. Amused, Eli smiled seeing that he was wearing a linen robe just like hers.

"Freckles, you scared... the..." Eli trailed off as she felt that something was wrong from the way she was talking. The girl swallowed hard and ventured a few more words. "Hell... out of... me..." she managed hesitantly for couldn't her own voice.

_Oh..._ Eli remembered the explosion and the damages it caused to her ears. Yet she had thought then that it would be temporary.

Seeing Ace titling his head questioningly to the side while his mouth formed words she couldn't hear she drew a large intake of air and exhaled deeply to calm down her fears before his. Surely it was temporary, her ears probably needed just a few more days to heal.

"Don't freak out," she said calmly, putting her hands on his shoulders. "I can't hear you."

Eli narrowed her eyes to try to decrypt what words his soundless mouth was saying but apparently lip-reading wasn't as easy as she would have thought. However she clearly saw the anxiousness in his dark eyes.

"Don't worry," Eli said with a soft smile. "I'm sure it's only temp-"

A gasp escaped her mouth as the young man grabbed her hand and dragged her forcibly into the palace, Eli could almost hear his heavy footfalls feeling the ground trembling with every step he took.

"Freckles stop !" she ordered with a frown.

If she was capable of facing the situation with calm her friend should do the same in her opinion, but Ace didn't seem to hear her, or didn't care. He entered the pirates' bedroom briskly and marched resolutely over to Chopper's bed still holding tightly Eli's hand.

"Don't !" Eli whispered seeing him waking the small doctor vigorously.

After a few seconds of energetic shaking, Chopper sat up groggily and rubbed his eyes looking at the pair questioningly. Eli looked at him and Ace having a discussion, even if she couldn't hear it didn't take a genius to understand that Ace was telling the little doctor about her condition. Watching the young man talking for her, Eli didn't know how to take his behavior; she wasn't a child, and she could clearly handle the situation on her own, but Ace seemed genuinely worried, therefore she decided not to blame him for his mother hen's manners.

With his grave doctor's face, Chopper took the chronicler to an empty room and examined her ears on the spot while Ace, joined by Vivi, looked at them anxiously. If Ace hadn't been so worried Eli would have probably been racked with anxiousness too, but the grave frown on her friend's face only made her feel uneasily guilty.

"I'm fine," she said with a smile to reassure him.

Vivi patted his shoulder mouthing what Eli assumed as words of comfort, but Ace's frown barely faltered.

After a careful examination Chopper looked at Eli and gave her the thumbs-up. The girl let out a sigh of relief, and beamed at the small doctor, before giving him a warm hug. Seeing the reindeer blushing brightly, while his arms wriggled, Eli could almost hear his embarrassed routine.

"See ?" Eli looked at Ace and Vivi. "Nothing to worry about."

Chopper took a note-book, wrote something, and turned it over for Eli to read.

_It's only temporary, I'll make a medicine and your hearing should be back in a day of two_. He also drew a little him making a victory sign.

Eli chuckled with a nod, and went out of the room to let the doctor prepare the said medicine.

Since she wasn't tired at all the girl decided to go outside to enjoy the night's freshness. Sitting on the palace's staircases she watched the sleeping city of Alubarna, a soft night breeze caressing her smiling face Eli let a sight of content escape her lips.

Feeling someone tapping her shoulder she turned her head to see Ace.

"Hey," she said happily.

Apparently Ace had taken the doctor note-book, he sat down next to Eli and wrote something in it.

_Hey_.

"Is everyone okay ?" Eli asked.

Ace nodded and smiled before writing again.

_Yes, Luffy is still asleep but he's okay._

"Good." Eli gave a hearty smile to her friend, happy to know that they had all managed to get through this dangerous quest successfully and unharmed.

However, while looking at him Eli thought about the bomb incident and somehow felt that she had to apologize for worrying him. Yet Ace had to know that she was strong and learn to trust her instinct as much as she did... And after all she might have taken a risky bet, but the stakes were worth it.

"I'm sorry if I scared you... with the bomb thing..." Eli said quietly. "But I knew I could do this."

After putting the note-book down Ace looked at Eli deeply. Lifting his hand to her face, his thumb brushed softly against her cheek. His inky eyes glimmering with warmth Eli felt her insides warming at the affectionate closeness, a friendly closeness she thought contentedly.

She rested gently her hand on his to return the gentle gesture a soft smile brightening up her face until she felt a few raindrops falling on her skin.

Looking upwards the two pirate saw that the night sky was completely filled with heavy clouds. As the rain turned quickly heavier, the city lights lit up one by one and soon the pair saw the people of Alubarna getting out of their houses with buckets, basins, barrels... anything to retain the blessed water.

Ace and Eli exchanged a cheerful grin and strolled down the stairs to join the overjoyed citizens. The chronicler had never seen people being so happy at a simple rain; children as well as adults were capering gleefully in the street, and after reconsideration, Eli thought that it was no simple rain; it was the symbol of the country's rebirth.

The two pirates strolled throughout Alubarna, completely soaked and light-hearted.

* * *

"Did that really happen ?" Eli asked.

Usopp nodded, a self-satisfied look on his face.

The girl narrowed her eyes looking at long-nosed marksman suspiciously, and sighed resuming to the comic he had drawn for her. It was showing his epic battle in company of Chopper against two Baroque Works agents.

"Why are you so injured if they were _that _scared ?" Eli asked looking at a picture of him standing proudly before his shivering opponents.

Eli saw him huff, while taking the note-book that she kept with her everywhere she went so that she could communicate with her friends until her hearing came back.

_This is nothing ! You should have seen them !_ He wrote.

"Right..." Eli nudged Usopp's shoulder and seeing the boy wincing, obviously in pain, she rolled her eyes with an amused smile.

Looking around she watched the rest of the pirates; Chopper was making medicine, blushing under the amazed gaze of an Alabastan doctor, Ace was sleeping peacefully in his bed, and Vivi was taking care of Luffy, a hearty smile never leaving her lovely face.

Being with the crew was agreeable even if she could not hear them but since the King of Alabasta had graciously offered the pirates a full access to the Royal Library, Eli decided to spend the rest of her day resting there.

Upon entering the room Eli gaped at the dozens of tall bookcases covering the walls from the floor to the ceiling. Going rapidly through the sections the chronicler noticed contently that there were many books about the desert Kingdom; they would certainly give her interesting information for her log book. Impatient Eli picked one which was referencing the fauna of Alabasta, she sat down comfortably in a couch and started reading eagerly.

"What are you doing ?" Eli asked, watching Ace questioningly as he sat next to her.

As he took her little note-book she rested her encyclopedia on her lap, and tilted her head to the side to read what he was writing. _Keeping you company. _She chuckled as he drew a little smiling face.

"I'm fine," Eli said cheerfully. "You should hang out with people who can actually _hear _you," she mocked.

Since she was deaf keeping her company was a hard, and boring task to achieve, but Ace shook his head, picked a book in the shelf behind him, and started reading next to his friend.

For a moment she peered at him curiously, Eli was aware that the young man _could _read, but she had never pictured him sitting down with a book... But there he was _reading_ a _book_, and as the surprise dissipated Eli resumed on her own.

_Ah... That's more like it ! _Eli laughed softly seeing that he had fallen asleep a few minutes after starting to read. She took the book from his hand, and put it on coffee table.

Reading her encyclopedia about the animal species of Alabasta Eli found out about the frilly lizards they had met on their first day. They were called Erimaki Runners and were sometimes used to deliver messages across the desert. Eli wondered if the ones they had met were wild since they didn't seem to be so friendly toward humans. The chronicler wrote down those information in her log book, and sketched the lizards rapidly.

Glancing at Ace, a warm smile made its way on her lips. She leaned on the couch's back, tuck up her feet and rested her head to face his. The last time the two friends were similarly close, they were in Ido and just like then the girl felt nothing but tenderness while watching her dear friend.

Naturally, Eli lifted slowly her hand to his face to push some black strands away from his eyes, and let her fingers brush against his charming freckles, a soft and warm sensation washing over her as she touched Ace's skin.

Eli ran her fingers through her bangs to put it aside and shifted her forehead against his, enjoying his familiar warmth as it diffused gradually through her. Watching Ace sleeping so peacefully she felt drowsiness slowly falling upon her. She didn't fight her heavy eyelids and soon fell asleep happily next to him.

* * *

The next morning, actually more mid afternoon than _morning_, as soon as Eli woke up from a long night sleep, she gathered the books she had borrowed from the Royal Library, and walked happily to the dining room, her stomach growling hungrily. The smell of cinnamon filling softly her nostrils, the chronicler sped up her pace, clutching her books against her chest.

"Morning'," Eli greeted Sanji and Ace, as soon as she entered the room.

"Good morning Elisabeth~" Sanji replied cheerfully, swirling sanjily around the girl. "You look absolutely stunning today !"

_Oh... _Eli smiled happily as she noticed right away that she could hear again. The cook's voice was still slightly muffled but clearly understandable. Now she had to think of something really awesome to say to surprise him. Eli sat down next to Ace and put her books on the table while thinking of a good repartee.

"That's not really fair Sanji," Ace said. "You know she can't hear you."

"And that way I can compliment her without being mocked." Sanji smiled, serving Eli a large plate of waffles, some fruits, and a tea. A breakfast in the middle of the afternoon, the cook apparently knew how to please the girl.

_Oh really !_ Eli was highly amused. Being able to hear the words she wasn't supposed to made the mischievous girl imagine rapidly all kind of pranks to trick her friends.

"True," Ace said, looking at Eli with a little smirk making the girl press her lips together to choke back her laughs.

After she thanked Sanji with a nod, he left to go check on Nami and Vivi, and Eli started eating while reading the books and writing at the same time. The chronicler used her devilish speed to accelerate the process as she had a lot of things to write down since she had almost the whole journey through Alabasta to transcribe; Ido, the adventures in the desert, the meeting with Eyelashes, Yuba, Rainbase-

"You're the most amazing girl I have ever met."

Eli snapped her pen due to the shock, ink splashing on her precious log book.

"MORON !" she cursed, grabbing briskly a napkin to sponge up the ink.

"WHAT ?" Ace yelled, looking at the girl with wide, bewildered eyes. He obviously wasn't expecting such a reaction, in fact the young man was probably not expecting any reaction at all...

"You're the most amazing girl I have ever met," she repeated in a very annoying tone of voice as his supposedly unheard declaration had sounded really stupid. "Dumbass..." she muttered, watching at the damages the ink had done to the page she was working on.

"YOU LITTLE..." Ace stood up briskly his freckled face flushed. "YOU CAN HEAR !"

"Glad to see you so happy !" Eli stood up as well, ink dripping from her clenched fist. "Thanks !" she barked angrily, not thinking for a second that she was wrong to flare up like this.

"Little pest !" he said sharply.

"I thought I was 'amazing' ?" Glaring at the angry young man, Eli tried to tower over him by a few centimeters. "You know, you're quite amazing too !" she sputtered impulsively.

Ace gulped audibly. "What ?"

"You heard me !" Eli growled with rosy cheeks.

Eli's heart was pounding fast in her chest while they blasted each other with angry glares. None of them seemed to want to back off, nor have anything more to say, therefore they stayed there, glaring at each other silently.

But soon Eli felt her anger being replaced by something else... a burning sensation in her chest... something powerful and overwhelming prompting her to touch the young man.

_What's wrong with me !_ Eli thought, as her mind was playing images of herself kissing her dear friend passionately.

Her face was burning up for she couldn't stop the flow of heated images flickering in her rushing mind. Glaring at him Eli found him so terribly attractive... The girl felt her skin tingling all over her body, demanding to be touched by the flame user.

_Please anyone... anything... Make that STOP ! _Eli pleaded inwardly, as she couldn't bear the painful torture her mind was putting upon paralyzed her body.

"I'M HUNGRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY !" someone yelled so loudly that his complaint resonated throughout the whole palace.

Eli managed to snap out of her disturbing train of thoughts thanks to the frantic cry.

"Luffy ?" the pair breathed in unison.

"WHERE IS MY HAAAAAAAAAAAAT ?"

"Luffy !" they said, dashing over to the bedroom.

Focusing only on her dear captain, Eli managed to forget her troubling fantasy... or at least put it aside.

to be continued

* * *

**This chapter hasn't been betaed since my beta is on vacation... I hope it's okay.**

_Sorry for the delay, I hope this chapter was worth the waiting._

_Also, and this is 'important' : I am working on rewriting my firsts chapters.  
Now that I know a bit more about Luffy and Ace childhood there might be some changes (I will warn you when it will be ready).  
As I studied they childhood and other memories I couldn't help but feel stupid for Ace's shirtlessness. It is the result of him joining the Whitebeard Pirates, therefore 'my' Ace should be wearing a shirt just like when he left Fuschia (opened shirt hopefully xD) and so from now on, he will be wearing one.  
I will correct the past chapters, and 'erase' his flame tattoo... I will miss it though (especially during the night in Ido)._

_I am very sorry for those changes, I hope you won't be too confused. I'm sure this is annoying for you, but when I started writing this fic I obviously didn't think about everything (how stupid of me) and now I'd rather correct those mistakes than writing reluctantly things that doesn't seem right anymore._


	43. The Princess And The Pirates

**Chapter 43  
The Princess And The Pirates**

"THREE DAYS !" Luffy yelled bewilderedly. "I SLEPT FOR THREE DAYS ?"

The pirates nodded silently, speechless before their captain's extremely loud awakening.

"I missed fifteen meals !" Luffy calculated rapidly, amazing his crew at his ability to count so accurately and fast for when it involved food. However, they weren't that amazed at the fact that the teenager counted five meals per day since they were getting used to his insatiable appetite. Thankfully, Vivi had warned the royal cook about Luffy immeasurable voracity, so everything was almost ready to satisfy the young captain as soon as he woke up.

The pirates were shown to the great hall were a gargantuan dinner was served in company of the King and the head guard Chaka. All kinds of exquisite and beautiful dishes were being provided by dozens of hurried waitresses as Luffy and Ace engulfed the food almost as soon as it touched the table.

It seemed that the older brother had restrained his appetite while his sibling was asleep. Maybe that was in order to enjoy this dinner to its fullest extent. The two black-haired pirates were fighting while stuffing their mouths as if they had been starving for months.

However, the frequency of the service apparently wasn't high enough for Luffy as he kept stealing from his crewmates' plates making Zoro and Chopper eat as fast as they could in fear of the boy's abyssal stomach while Usopp tried to trick him, soaking his food with Tabasco.

In contrast, the rest of the crew was acting quite courteously; Sanji kept asking the waiters questions about the Alabastan cuisine and spices, Nami was savoring the delicious food with a joyful smile on her face, and as for Eli, she was gazing absently at the two brothers' eating contest, particularly the older one.

"Aren't you hungry, Eli ?" Vivi asked as she looked questioningly at the girl's practically untouched plate.

Eli was kicked out of her air castle by the princess's question.

"What ? Ah... yes, sorry..." As she was about to eat, Luffy's rubber hand made its way all the way over to her plate. "DON'T !" She stuck her fork in his hand with a scowl.

"Don't you remember rule number three, Luffy ?" Ace said smugly. "Never touch Eli's food !"

"Buk ky gohant ik !" Luffy said, shifting his hand to Usopp's plate, swiftly stealing its contents and engulfing it on the spot. His face turned crimson, tears flowing from his eyes as the Tabasco effectively set his mouth aflame, making the pirates burst into laughter.

At first, the royal guards looked at the dinner contemptuously, muttering complaints about the pirates' lack of manners, but as it went on, their frowning faces morphed into awe and at last laughs. It seemed that the pirates' joy was contagious.

* * *

After the exciting dinner, the King offered the pirates the Royal honor to enjoy a bath in the luxurious palace's bath. It was nothing like the one Eli had in Ido; it was huge, the floor, walls and columns were made of a bright white marble, magnificent lion fountains were pouring a large and continuous flow of warm water, and the whole room was filled with a thick steam carrying the scent of bergamot and some other delightful perfumes.

After washing herself at light-speed, Eli immersed herself in the warm water with a soft moan of delight.

"I wonder if there is a ship equipped with such a bath," Nami said dreamily.

"There must be one," Vivi replied smiling cheerfully, her eyes lost in the recollection of her adventures. "The sea is so vast; giants, dragons, cherry trees blooming in a snowy country... There is still so much to see !"

Eli sighed deeply. "I can't wait to see dragons..."

While Vivi was soaping Nami's back, Eli ogled them and their perfect figures. Her chin resting on the bath's rim, the skinny beanpole couldn't help but sigh sadly.

"Eli, stop staring at us like that," Nami said, frowning at the intrusive chronicler. "It's creepy."

"But it's so unfair," Eli whined. "You got those huge boobs and look at mine !" The skinny girl sat up, pointing at her underdeveloped breasts.

At the sounds of multiple gasps, the girls' heads snapped in the direction of the wall separating the two sides of the bath. Except for Zoro, the boys and men and animals were all there eying the girls.

Her face completely flushed in embarrassment, Eli turned around hastily covering her flat chest.

"Elisabeth is so cute~" Sanji said lovingly.

_Cute ?_ Upon hearing the childish adjective, Eli frowned and clenched her fists in anger. _I swear I'll kill you, Sanji..._

"Those guys..." With a deep exasperated sigh, Nami stood up, her body wrapped in her towel. "100 000 each." She walked toward the goofy peeping Toms and opened her towel. "Happiness Punch !"

"UWAH !" The staggering sight of the redhead's full frontal provoked a massive nose bleed followed by a general fainting.

"NAMI !" Vivi yelled, visibly shocked at the redhead's lack of decency.

_Of course _she _gets a nosebleed_... Eli sighed while standing up and covered herself with her towel.

With a mischievous smile on her face, she climbed the wall and rapidly scanned the lifeless bodies to find Sanji in order to get her revenge. But to her disappointment, the young man had covered his lower body with a towel.

Yet it seemed that luck was on her side because when Sanji stood up groggily, wiping the blood from under his nose, the small towel slowly unwound revealing his...

"Aww~ Sanji is so cute," Eli said smugly, staring between his legs.

With a quick and girlish squeak Sanji covered himself, his face turning scarlet under the girl's playful and somewhat triumphant laugh. Unfortunately, her fun was soon interrupted as Vivi pulled her down forcibly.

"ELI !" the princess yelled angrily. "You two have to learn how to behave !" she scolded, looking at Nami and Eli.

"What can we do ?" the navigator said, amused. "We are pirate girls, after all."

"Aye !" Eli grinned proudly.

* * *

After the bath, the pirates were in their room discussing whether or not they should leave tonight since Luffy had recovered and Alabasta was crawling with marines. The young captain wasn't too keen on leaving after only one Alabastan feast, a gluttonous reason which resulted in a moralizing lesson given by his big brother.

Their discussion was interrupted by a royal servant carrying a den den mushi. "It's someone called Lil Bon Bon," the servant said.

"Lil Bon Bon ?" Eli's eyebrows went up at the ridiculous name.

"He says that he is your friend," the servant specified, handing the snail phone to Sanji.

"HEY ? HEY ?" a very annoying and somehow familiar voice greeted loudly. "IT'S MEEE ! GYAHAHAHAHA !"

_What the..._ The pirates eyes widened at the highly annoying sound of Mr. Two's voice, and with a dark glare, Sanji hung up the phone on the spot. However, after a few seconds of silence, the phone started ringing again.

"Hey, you're that drag queen !" Luffy frowned. "What do you want from us ?"

"Wha ? Isn't this Straw Hat Luffy ?" Mr. Two said. "You're alive, I'm so happy !"

"Happy ?" Eli asked, raising one brow in disbelief toward Ace who shrugged apparently as puzzled as her.

"Don't call me Mr. Two," he gravely. "The marines might have tapped into the phone."

"You just said it yourself," Chopper said, in awe at the man's stupidity.

"Get straight to the point !" Zoro said sharply, an annoyed frown on his face.

"Oh yeah, your boat, I took it away !"

"WHAT !" the pirates yelled in unison.

"Wait, listen to me first !" Mr. Two-Bon Bon said briskly. "Aren't we... friends ?"

"WHAT ?" the pirates yelled, almost more shocked by that unexpected question than by the fact that he had captured their ship.

"I'm on you ship, upstream of Sandora River," Bon Bon said. "I'll be waiting for you, come as soon as you can."

_That's... odd..._

After hanging up, the pirates wondered whether or not they should trust their 'former' enemy. However, they couldn't linger on the question too long; he had the Merry, and therefore, they didn't have any other option but to trust him blindly, at least for now.

"Let's pack up," Ace said gravely. "We have to leave now."

The pirates nodded and started packing their stuff on the spot.

"Everyone," Vivi called out hesitantly. "Please... tell me, what should I do ?" The princess looked down, her hands clutching the fabric of her robe.

"That's a stupid question." Eli grinned. "Come with us, of course !"

"Eli..." Nami scolded sadly, "it's not that simple."

"Of course it is," Luffy said, a large grin plastered on his childish face. "You must come !"

The blue-haired princess lifted her face, obviously racked with doubt as she looked silently at her friends.

"Listen Vivi, we'll give you twelve hours." Nami said gravely. "At midday tomorrow, we will pass by the east coast." The navigator pointed to the map of Alabasta. "If you decide to come, we'll welcome you then !"

As their belongings, food, and some gifts offered by the King were packed, the pirates sneaked out of the palace through a window.

Before leaving, Eli took the princess's hands in hers and smiled cheerfully. "You'll come, right ?"

The girl had grown attached to the lovely blue-haired princess easily, and who wouldn't ? She was brave, gentle, and smart, and they had shared so much, even if it had only lasted a few weeks. She was just as much a part of the Straw Hats as any of the other pirates.

"Yeah, you must come, Vivi !" Luffy beamed, happily joining Eli.

"Don't be like that !" Ace frowned, grabbing the two of them by the waist. "Let's go..."

"You don't expect her to come, Ace ?" Luffy, and soon Eli, glared at the flame user.

"Of course not ! That's HER decision, idiots !"

"You're the idiot..." they mumbled in unison, climbing down the rope.

* * *

"Why did you make me wait that long !" Mr. Two shouted, standing in an arabesque on the Merry. "Long time no see ! Were you thinking about me ?"

"Merryyyy !" Eli yelled happily, running toward the cute figurehead to hug it tightly, completely ignoring Mr. Two standing with his arms spread as he apparently thought that the girl's incoming hug was for him. It had been such a long time since she had seen their beloved ship that it made her realize how it was more than just a ship; it was their home. "I missed you so much !"

"That's far enough," Sanji said coldly, barely looking at the drag queen. "Careful on the way back !"

"Goodbye..." Mr. Two said, tears flowing from his highly made-up eyes. "No, that's not right, wait a second !" he growled, stomping the railing angrily.

"Oi." Eli appeared next to him, a scornful look on her face. "Don't touch Merry."

"Oh, it's you... my fellow gender bender !" Mr. Two grinned shaking Eli's hand vigorously.

"What !" The boyish girl's face darkened instantly, blood lust burning in her green eyes.

"You were amazing ! So faaaast !" Mr. Two clapped his hands cheerfully. "Bravo !"

"Hehehe." Upon hearing the compliments, Eli's dark face quickly morphed into embarrassment, blushing brightly while she scratched the back of her head. "That was nothing, you know..."

"Eli, stop acting so friendly with the enemy," Ace said, frowning at the girl while carrying bags on board.

Mr. Two huffed. "That's in the past," he said in a serious tone of voice. "Baroque Works is disbanded, we aren't your enemies anymore. And if I didn't move your ship away, what would have happened to it ?"

"Probably confiscated by the marines." Nami sighed.

"Not PROBABLY, CERTAINLY !" Mr. Two yelled.

"Then you took the Merry so the marines wouldn't get it !" Luffy asked, completely astonished.

Usopp, Chopper, and Eli looked at the drag queen in awe. "Really ! Why ?"

Mr. Two grinned sparklingly, tears of emotion falling from his eyes. "Because we are friends... aren't we ?" he said, giving a first-class thumbs-up to the amazed bunch.

"Thank you !" Eli bowed in reverence, and Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper joined him for a best-friends-forever cancan while the more mature part of the crew continued putting the luggage away...

* * *

Sailing downstream of the river Sandora, the Straw Hats ran into several belligerent marine ships, stationed to stop the pirates before they could reach the open sea.

"And there he goes..." Eli rolled her eyes seeing Ace jumping onto his Striker on the spot and rushing toward the enemy ships.

The marines tried to stop the young man, launching harpoons at him that he skillfully dodged while maneuvering his raft with style. In a minute tops, the flame user wiped the place clean for the Merry and came back smiling smugly at the grateful crew.

"How cool was that ?" Ace asked, whispering in Eli's ear.

_Very extremely awesome..._

"Not bad..." Eli muttered, rolling her eyes again at his annoying self-satisfaction. "Why do you even care what I think ?"

"Because I like you," Ace said softly, a little smirk on his freckled face.

"Right..."

Sailing up the east coast of Alabasta, Luffy, Eli, and Chopper were frantically scanning the shore with the hope of spotting their friend there while the rest of the crew took care of maneuvering the ship and checking the horizon for marines.

"_...in the darkness and storms I found a tiny ship._"

"It's the broadcast of the speech held in Alubarna," Ace said as Vivi's voice reached the Merry.

"_That ship pushed me forward and told me, 'Can you see those lights ?'. That ship will always find its way out of the darkness._"

The princess was obviously talking about the Merry and its crew. Her tone of voice was proud yet affectionate, and it caused emotion to arise in Eli's chest.

"_An unbelievable ship indeed, riding the mighty waves as if dancing upon them._"

"She ain't coming," Sanji said, blowing the smoke of his cigarette and looking pensively at the shore of Alabasta while Luffy, Eli, and Chopper were still hoping to see Vivi any minute now.

The cook was obviously wrong, how could she not come, they were friends, and who would give up a life of pirate, a life of freedom, for anything in the world...?

"_Even though it seems like they're just drifting, they only go forward, even going against the wind._"

_Vivi... _Even if the rest of the crew seemed to have given up on the princess, the three devil fruit users were holding onto the railing, frowning at the despairingly empty shore.

"_In the end, it will raise its finger and say; 'Look ! There is Light !'._"

"More ships are coming !" Usopp yelled, pointing at a small fleet approaching the Merry.

"_Even if history will likely record this as an illusion, they will always be real to me._"

"Give up, you three," Sanji said coldly. "She's from a different world."

"She has to be here !" Luffy glared at the unfaithful cook before returning his attention to the shore.

The princess had to be here... Hearing the way she talked about the pirates was nothing but solid proof of that. She was more that just a friend; she was a part of this crew, part of this family...

"EVERYONE !" Vivi yelled out. She was there, with Caru, waving happily at the pirates.

"VIVI !" the whole crew whooped in unison watching their friend standing on the shore.

The princess was wearing a gorgeous dress, probably the one she was supposed to wear for the ceremony, but she gave it all up for her friends. Without waiting, Luffy grabbed onto the railing and started walking backwards to stretch out his arms and propel himself over to Vivi.

"I'm here to say goodbye !"

_What...?_

"I can't go with you all !" Vivi said, a large smile on her pretty face. "Thank you for what you have done for me !"

The pirates were stunned, looking speechlessly at their friend who was saying her farewells. But how could she...? After all the ordeals they had been through together, she was as much a part of this crew as any of them... She _had_ to come.

"Even though I want to go with you..." Vivi trailed off looking down before raising her head proudly. "But, you see, I really love this country !"

Luffy grinned. After all, that was the best reason possible.

"But if there is one day where we meet each other again," Vivi said with a trembling voice as tears started to flow from her big blue eyes, "will you all still take me as a friend !"

"ANYTI-"

"Luffy, don't !" Nami interrupted him, slamming her hand on his mouth. "The marines have seen Vivi, and if they find out we're friends, she will become a criminal !"

Vivi was crying while desperately watching her friends remain silent. They wanted to tell her that she will always be welcome among them, they wanted to tell her that they will never forget her...

And since they couldn't use words, they showed her instead how much they cared.

Their backs facing the princess, the Straw Hats raised their left arms, proudly showing the X mark on their forearms... the silent proof of their indefectible friendship...

to be continued

* * *

**Betaed by Iwin Ulose.**

_Hehe got your confession... kinda XD  
Anyway Alabasta in DONE !  
And the next chapter will be the last before my vacations :)_

_Oh and Twig 8 had been published. _


	44. Observation Log

**Chapter 44  
****Observation Log **

"What are you drawing ?" Ace asked as he joined Eli in the crow's nest.

Listlessly, she raised her face from her book to look at him with red, puffy eyes. The young man had traded his Alabastan outfit for his usual black shorts and white open shirt, and for Eli it only meant one thing: their adventure in the desert kingdom of Alabasta was over, irrevocably over. She shifted her eyes to her log book, sighed sadly, and held it out for him to see.

"Vivi..." she replied quietly. "Wasn't she just beautiful..." The chronicler sighed again, gazing deeply more at her portrait of the lovely princess wearing her royal outfit.

"She sure was." Ace leaned against the side of the crow's nest, resting his elbows on its rim, and smiled at the whimpering girl.

"And now I'm stuck with Nami..." Eli looked up at the flame user desperately. "You know, she's gonna make me tidy my stuff, do my laundry, and _more_..."

"Bummer," Ace said, apparently holding back a laugh.

Eli sniffled and rubbed her puffy eyes slowly. She would miss the blue-haired princess, her maturity, her strength, and, above all, her kindness. The chronicler had never had any girl friends before Nami, and the redhead was a great friend, she wouldn't deny that, but she was often harsh, and Eli had easily gotten used to Vivi's tolerance and tenderness.

"I should move to the male quarters..." Eli said sadly, resuming to her drawing.

"Not sure that's a good idea." Ace looked upwards, a little smile on his face.

A general, long and very mopish sigh resonated throughout the Merry, making it sound like the little ship was sighing along with the depressed pirates.

"We're so lonely..." Eli heard her friends whine in unison from below the crow's nest.

Standing up to watch how they were doing, she saw that they were in the same emotional state as her: slumping on the floor their heads and arms hanging from the inner railing, whining and sighing wearily. Apparently, Zoro and Ace were the only ones not to be affected by the sweet princess's absence, at least not visibly.

"Don't cry anymore, jeez !" Zoro said harshly, glaring at the depressed bunch. "I knew I should have dragged her aboard."

"Waaah, you're a barbarian..." Chopper said, looking at the swordsman with wide eyes.

"Despicable..." Nami gritted her teeth in hatred.

"Heartless..." Eli added from above.

"Devil..." Sanji muttered, his cigarette hanging sadly from his pouting lips.

"Three swords..." Luffy glared at Zoro.

"Wait Luffy, 'three swords' is not an insult !" Usopp noted.

"Four Swords..." Luffy rectified ineffectively. Apparently, the boy wasn't really skilled in coming up with a good insult.

Zoro huffed disdainfully. Manifestly extremely annoyed, the heartless swordsman watched the wailing pirates from the corner of his eye and walked away as he couldn't bear their whining anymore. Eli looked at him as he got distant, his heavy footsteps resonating on the wooden floor, and shifted her eyes to Ace. The young man was staring into space, a feeble smile on his freckled face. While looking at him, Eli was sure that he was only keeping his sorrow inside for the sake of the crew, and so she took a step closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder, seeking solace within his gentle warmth.

"At last we're out to sea..." a strangely familiar feminine voice said. "Good work."

"MISS ALL SUNDAY !" the pirates screamed, bewildered at the sight of their enemy walking casually on their ship.

Ace and Eli dashed down on the spot and joined their friends surrounding the mysterious woman belligerently. Muscles tensed, hands on their weapons, they were ready to deal with her if she was here to take her revenge... yet she seemed pretty relaxed. Annoyingly relaxed.

"When did you board our ship ?" Nami yelled angrily.

"I was here the whole time in the cabin, reading a book and taking a bath," she replied casually. Pretending that there was nothing wrong, she took a folding chair and sat down.

"Make yourself comfortable, won't you, Miss !" Ace said wryly, folding his arms while frowning at the black-haired woman.

Being completely oblivious of having an enemy aboard the Merry during those few hours caused the pirates' anger to grow tremendously. Their eyes burning with fury, they stared persistently at her face, trying to decrypt her unreadable expression... Well, except for Usopp, who was hiding ineffectively behind the mast of the ship, yelling out his anxiousness on top of his lungs, and Sanji, who was already in love with the gorgeous woman.

"Monkey D. Luffy," Miss All Sunday called out seriously. "Did you forget what you did to me ?"

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT !" Sanji grabbed the boy's collar and shook him frantically. "What did you do to this beautiful lady !"

"Hey ! Don't lie !" Luffy yelled angrily. "I didn't do anything to you !"

"I clearly remember..." Miss All Sunday said. "You better take responsibility." She rested her chin in the palm of her hand and smiled. "Let me join your crew."

_Join our crew..._

_That_ was quite unexpected, and so the Straw Hats yelled their surprise all in unison. Watching her beautiful face, Eli couldn't help but notice that while her little smile was warm, her deep blue eyes seemed a bit sad.

"You made me live when I wanted to die..." she said. "And now I have nowhere else to go, so let me stay on this ship."

The woman was so troubling; she was speaking about giving up on her life so easily that the pirates just remained speechless, watching Luffy and her.

"Oh, if it's like that then there's nothing I can do," Luffy said. "It's okay, you can join."

The pirates gasped loudly at the captain's quick acceptance of the former enemy within the crew. After all, they knew nothing about her, and she gave off a disquieting aura... her beauty, her warm smile, and something else. Eli couldn't put her finger on it, but there was something extremely wrong with her. Something about her was endangering the girl, she felt it in her guts, and while she gave the woman a searching look, she soon found what her guts feared deeply.

"Don't worry !" Luffy grinned. "She's not as bad as you all think."

"Oi oi Luffy !" Eli said, frowning at the woman. "Miss... stand up please !" she ordered sharply.

To that harsh order Miss All Sunday complied obediently, still sporting a little and ever-so-charming smile on her lips. Eli walked over to her and straightened up, her back against hers.

"Who's the tallest ?" Eli asked gravely, making a good portion of the crew slap their foreheads while the other part rolled their eyes at the chronicler's odd priorities.

"Come on, tell me..." Eli's frown furrowed as she needed her doubt to be eased as soon as possible.

"Well..." Ace looked carefully at the top of the tall females' heads. "I'm not sure..." he said quietly.

Instantly, Eli's green eyes widened in fear; she wouldn't be able to accept this woman in the crew if she _dared_ out-heighting her. It was a matter of pride, and pride was even more precious than life to a pirate such as her.

"Wait." Miss All Sunday crouched and took off her shoes, baring her feet just like Eli. "There, it'll be more fair," she said in an amused tone of voice.

In the corner of her eyes, Eli watched Ace's face anxiously while praying to the skies to be victorious. Her height has always been her pride and joy, and she felt that if she happened to lose that particularity, she would also lose her strength. She wasn't the prettiest, she wasn't the smartest, nor the strongest, yet she was the tallest, she had always been the tallest...

"Ah, we got a winner." Ace smirked. "You're the tallest, Twig."

Eli whooped happily raising her arms in the air, in both the naming and, more importantly, the winning.

"She can stay," the beanpole said with a cheerful smile, to which Miss All Sunday chuckled.

Relieved, Eli forgot about the previous suspicions and decided to draw a portrait of the new crew member in her log book. Sketching attentively her graceful features, the chronicler awed silently at her mysterious beauty. However, even if Luffy and Eli had already accepted Miss All Sunday's presence, the rest of the crew had yet to be convinced. Therefore, Usopp grilled her, as his lying ability was supposedly a big help for the job.

That was how the pirates learned that Miss All Sunday's name was Nico Robin. She became an archaeologist at the age of eight and it was at that young age that she got a bounty on her head. Therefore, she was had been chased relentlessly by the government for the past twenty years. Obviously, as a child, she couldn't survive at sea alone, and that was why she joined various crews to protect herself. The woman told proudly that she had real good stealth abilities.

Obviously, the interrogatory didn't ease Usopp's fears, quite the opposite, in fact. In his defense, the woman could be quite scary.

On the other hand, Chopper and Luffy were completely thrilled at Robin's devil fruit powers. The woman could 'bloom' her limbs wherever she wanted, and apparently as much as she wanted. She used her ability to tickle the two boys from a distance while chuckling charmingly.

"You can fool Luffy, but you won't fool me," Nami said coolly. "I still remember you used to be the vice president of an evil organization, and if I see anything suspicious, I'll get rid of you !"

"Oh..." Robin smiled. "In that case, I'll keep these jewels for myself," she said, playing with a pouch apparently containing a large amount of jewels.

How she managed to find the redhead's Achilles' heel so fast was a mystery, yet that smart manœuvre earned her the unconditional love of the greedy girl.

With her charms, Sanji was of course one of the first to accept the woman among them, declaiming his flame amorously while serving her delicious snacks. His flirty behavior effectively earned him glares from the three remaining untrusty pirates.

Zoro, Ace, and Usopp looked at the charmed crew scornfully while assigning themselves as the pillars who shouldn't falter before the mysterious woman. Unfortunately for the two young men, the pillar Usopp collapsed quite easily, bursting into laughter seeing Luffy imitating Chopper thanks to Robin's hands as the little reindeer's horns.

Robin stood up and walked slowly over to Ace and Zoro who were standing with their arms folded firmly, frowns on their faces.

"This is not bad," she said softly. "Are they always this cheerful ?"

"Yeah, they're always like that."

The two young men exchanged a suspicious glance. Apparently, they weren't going to let the woman off the hook so easily...

* * *

_Observation of Nico Robin Day 1 _

_While I observe Nico Robin, I can't help but awe at her natural grace and charms._  
_Sanji is so completely under her mysterious spell that it's almost scary..._

_Evil Dark Lord (laughing evilly) : MWAHAHAHA~_

_Nami (crying) : Someone, anyone... HELP US !_

_Ace (sleeping) : ZzzzZZzzz _

_Usopp (holding his face) : Oh my god, we are doomed !_

_Luffy (clenching his fists) : I'm going to kick your ass Evil Dark Lord._

_Zoro & Sanji (frowning at E.D.L.) : Let's do it captain ! _

_E.D.L. (blasting Luffy, Zoro and Sanji away with an invisible force) : You have absolutely no chance of survival pitiful humans, this planet will be mine, MIIIIIINE~_

_Robin (her arms folded) : Well, when death is upon us there's nothing we can do. _

_Chopper (whining and hugging Eli) : Please do something Eli..._

_Eli ( her chest stuck out proudly) : Evil Dark Lord ! You like games right ?_

_E.D.L. (scratching the side of his head) : Well... yeah..._

_Eli (pointing E.D.L. scornfully) : I'll challenge you then ! A Rock-Paper-Scissors game deciding the fate of this planet ! _

_Straw Hats (looking at Eli with sparkling admiration) : Waaaaaaaah ! _

_E.D.L. : HAHAHA you're a cheeky one missy ! I accept your challenge._

_Eli : Paper ! _

_E.D.L. : Rock... DAMN ! _

_Eli (grinning proudly, while the Straw Hats hug her tightly) : Hehehe._

_E.D.L. (shaking Eli's hand) : Well, I'll leave this planet then... I shall never forget you, courageous human girl ! _

_Eli (pointing at Usopp) : You can take the long-nosed one._

_Usopp (crying while being taken away) : NOOOOOOOOOooooooohhhhh..._

"Really...?" Usopp said in disbelief as he just finished reading Eli's comic, 'Eli Saving the World'.

The chronicler nodded wisely.

"Hey, why am I sleeping the whole time ?" Ace frowned, pointing at all the panels where he appeared asleep... well, all the panels where he appeared, period.

"Because you _do _sleep a lot, Freckles," Eli replied and stuck out the tip of her tongue playfully.

Usopp looked around rapidly, apparently searching for something, or someone, and smiled mischievously at Eli. "And you-"

Coming out of nowhere, Sanji jumped next to the marksman and kicked him swiftly, glaring threateningly before the stare of a quite puzzled Eli.

"But I didn't say a thing," Usopp whined, pouting at the angry cook.

Sanji huffed. "And you'd better keep it that way."

* * *

_Observation of Nico Robin Day 2 _

_Robin seems to be the last one to go to bed, and the first to wake up._  
_Well that's a supposition since I was never able to witness it, but for all I know it is completely possible that she doesn't sleep at all... _

When Luffy and Usopp proposed that Eli join them in testing a new weapon using Nami's bra as a double slingshot to shoot cannonballs, the girl declined in fear of the redhead's reaction. However, she was curious, and so she climbed up to her beloved crow's nest in order to watch the dangerous experiment from afar.

"Nami is not gonna like that." Ace laughed childishly next to Eli while looking at the two reckless boys.

"That's an understatement." The chronicler chuckled.

Luffy was holding the bra while Usopp put the two large cannonballs into the cups.

"And they _fit_..." Eli sighed sadly making Ace pat her on the back sympathetically.

The marksman stretched the extensible bra backwards, targeting a rocky formation in the distance.

"A bit more..." Usopp said, focused on his target until...

'Craaak...'

_Oops !_ Eli slammed her hand on her mouth as the sight of the torn lacy bra made her burst into laughter.

"WHAT THE HELL !" Nami yelled, glaring at the two boys looking sheepishly at the piece of underwear.

Of course, they tried to hide the accusative evidence, even though they had just been caught red-handed... The angry navigator punished them on the spot, hitting them on the head with strength that seemed out of this world, before sobbing while looking at the poor ripped bra.

"Barbarians..." Nami muttered.

"There are times like this when I'm actually grateful to be this flat," Eli said, looking at the sad redhead.

* * *

_Observation of Nico Robin Day 3_

_It seems that the woman likes coffee a lot... which causes the ship's cook to serve her all day with heart-shaped eyes._  
_Robin also seems to love books._ _Maybe that's one thing we actually have in common._

Eli noticed that she had been asleep only upon languidly parting her heavy eyelids. It was, again, one of those lazy, uneventful days that made the chronicler, and a part of the crew, nap practically all day through. As the sleep haze faded out with every lazy blink of her eyelids, a soft smile made its way to Eli's cheeks seeing Ace's sleeping face appearing next to hers.

It seemed that the time passing by had considerably brought the two pirates closer. Eli wasn't really able to draw the line of their friendship anymore, and there she was, lying against him in the secluded crow's nest, her head resting on his broad shoulder, her arm and leg wrapped around him, while he held her waist loosely.

Eli didn't really remember how it happened, and did that even matter ? Lying against the warm flame user was so comfortable and ever so pleasant... Against him, she felt protected as if nothing could ever happen to her. The sunlight lovingly caressing his freckled face, Eli mewed contently nuzzling her cheek on the fabric of his shirt with soft rustles.

Yet upon noticing that her fingers were curled up in his shaggy hair, Eli felt her heartbeat increase slightly.

Maybe _that _was too much after all... maybe the invisible line was _there_... in his dark and lusciously warm hair...

Sitting up on her feet, Eli withdrew her hand slowly, absently letting her fingertips brush against the skin of his muscular chest partially bared by his open-front shirt... The girl felt a swift shiver running all over her skin as she reluctantly left the warm embrace, yet that was for the best... probably. After rubbing her puffy eyes, Eli blinked questioningly seeing Ace sitting up as well; was he awake all this time ?

"Stay," Ace said softly, his dark half-lidded eyes diving into hers, deeply.

"What- erm... I..." Eli stammered quietly as she didn't know how to reply to this exquisite request of his.

"Stay..." Ace wrapped gently his arms around her, and lay down again slowly, taking the girl with him.

Feeling him tenderly caressing the skin of her arm, Eli closed her eyes as she soaked in his delicious and familiar warmth gradually. It was so capturing and irresistible... The soft heat even reached her insides, causing a soft sigh of content to escape her mouth.

After all, what was wrong about two friends having a nap together ? Nothing, surely. Yes, nothing was wrong there, Eli convinced herself, completely ignoring the fact that she wouldn't be doing this with any of her other friends...

to be continued

* * *

**Betaed by Iwin Ulose.**

_In case you missed it in my Twig 9's note (really short chapter, you'll read what Ace told Eli right after the bomb's explosion) :  
I received an other gift. YAY ! From **xXMewMikageXx**. Thank you thank you !_

_And since it was my birthday the 16th my dear friend **Anne** made me TWO gifts.  
One of them is actually an illustration of one of the many day naps Ace and Eli spend together in the crow's-nest :) _

_Go see them in my profile ! :D_

_Also I'll be gone for almost three weeks. I'll miss you guys, and I kinda hope you'll miss me too (or at least Eli).  
If my updates have been less frequent this past weeks it is because I wanted my last chapter to be this one :) Sweet end isn't it ?  
I promise some real changes in Ace and Eli's relationship when I'll come back.  
Be prepared ! Hotness and emotional roller-coasters are to be expected.  
I hope I'll see you all then, and maybe some new readers ? :) _

_See ya~ ^^/_


	45. First Date

**Chapter 45**  
**First Date**

"Island ahoy !" Eli yelled happily upon seeing the dark shape of an island standing out in the horizon.

Closing in, the pirates could see that the said island was quite small and simple; no huge trees, no desert spanning all over its ground, no large drum-like mountains, and somehow, the simplicity of it all gave the pirates the pleasant sensation that maybe, this time, they could relax happily without facing fearsome enemies.

Upon docking, the pirates looked questioningly at a little boy who was observing them while glancing at a sheet of paper he was holding tightly.

"Are you Fire Fist Ace ?" the boy finally asked looking at Ace with wide and slightly amazed eyes.

"Yup," the flame user replied, smiling smugly as joy lit the boy's face.

"Wait here please," he said, running away briskly.

The pirates shrugged at the boy's puzzling behavior before resuming to their tasks. They took their bags, locked the doors of the Merry and as they all set foot on the ground, the crew was silently awed looking at a thick crowd gathering before them.

Usopp started trembling like a leaf while Zoro put his hands on his katana preparing himself for a mass attack. The swordsman was soon joined by Sanji taking a defensive stance in front of the pirate girls.

"Welcome !" a round man said. He was rather small and wore a large top hat almost as tall as him. He bounced happily, his arms wide open toward Ace. "We've been expecting you !"

_Eh ?_ The pirates raised their eyebrows questioningly, remaining on their guard as the man hugged Ace tightly.

"Is it a family reunion or something ?" Sanji asked, looking at the cheerful faces of the citizens.

"Ace ?" Luffy asked, looking at his big brother who only shrugged.

"Welcome to Kusai Island," the man said, releasing Ace from his hug. "I am the mayor."

"Nice to meet you," Ace said. "How can I help you ?"

"Well, come come ! I'll tell you everything on the way," the mayor said motioning the pirates toward the town.

Walking through the street of the pretty town, the mayor explained that the island didn't normally welcome pirates with such warmth, but since 'Fire Fist Ace' was here, things were different. Apparently, despite its small size, Kusai Island was renowned for its multiple festivals that attracted people from the surrounding islands to enjoy them. The one that made the citizens most proud was their summer festival which celebrated fire.

"Ooooohhhh..." the crew uttered in unison as they instantly understood why the mayor seemed so interested in their flamey crewmate.

"We would love to have you as a special guest this year," the mayor said ecstatically, his eyes sparkling like a thousand stars. "Of course, we will offer rooms for you and your crew."

"Hey old man !" Luffy frowned at the round man. "I'm the captain !" he said, pointing a thumb to his chest.

"Oh really ?" the mayor said with a highly surprised look on his face, which made the pirates burst into laughter at their young captain whose frown kept on darkening.

"Yeah really," Ace finally said, apparently very amused, too, while patting his little brother's shoulder.

"Oh... Anyway, like I said, we'll offer you free hotel rooms and food, as well as drinks in all the establishments of the town if you could do us the honor of participating in our festival."

The offer made the pirates look at the mayor their eyes glowing with envy. Even the previously angry captain was completely seduced at the idea of having free food. Free food, free rooms, free booze... Every Straw Hat could easily find their happiness on this highly welcoming island. Also, since it would take the Log Pose two days to set, they had absolutely no reason to refuse the request. In the end, though, it was still the flame user's decision whether or not he wanted to entertain the citizens with his abilities.

"Do it do it Freckles," Eli pleaded, soon joined by the rest of the crew.

"Sure thing," Ace said with a proud smile, making the pirates leap for joy.

* * *

The young pirates were shown to a gorgeous hotel and given three rooms: one for the boys, one for the girls, and one for Ace... They could have been jealous being stuck all together while the flame user had the luxury of having a room all to himself, but upon seeing the nice-looking rooms, the large and cosy beds, and the wonderful view, they just whooped happily... not to mention that it was all free. Nami especially looked like she had died and gone to heaven.

As soon as the redhead saw the azure swimming pool of the hotel, she took her swimming suit and planned a lazy day by its side. She offered the two other pirate girls to join her, but they refused the offer politely. Robin apparently had some shopping to do, and as for Eli, the perspective of sunbathing lazily all day wasn't quite attractive enough. She had already been extremely lazy the past number of days after their departure from Alabasta, and looking at Robin, a much more interesting idea popped into her mind: spying on the mysterious woman.

Following the archaeologist from a distance, Eli found nothing really interesting. Apparently, Robin needed some clothes and therefore spent her time shopping through the main street of the town, the number of her bags increasing exponentially as time passed by; she and Nami apparently had that much in common.

After a while, Robin sat herself outside of a café, and Eli hid behind a tree to watch her. The beautiful woman hardly went unnoticed as almost every male passing by ogled her outrageously. However, she didn't seem to be aware of that or just didn't care as she kept her attention on her book while enjoying her drink.

A short squeak escaped Eli's mouth as she felt someone tapping her shoulder from behind, and her surprise didn't falter as, turning around, the girl's eyes fell on an arm, obviously Robin's, waving nicely.

"Why don't you come and join me, Miss Chronicler ?" a mouth in the palm of the hand offered kindly.

_That's... creepy... _Eli thought, watching the mouth smiling at her before walking over to Robin while scratching the back of her head sheepishly.

Still, Robin didn't seem to be angry at the sneaky girl as she welcomed her, her chin resting in her hand and a little smile on her pretty face.

"What can I do for you ?" she asked as Eli sat down across the small table from her.

"Nothing... really..." Eli said hesitantly. "I'm sorry if I bothered you."

"Not at all," Robin said obviously amused. "What would you like to drink ?"

After ordering a fruit cocktail, the two pirates discussed casually about the book that Robin was reading. It seemed a bit like Eli's log book since it was telling the story of a pirate crew who had traveled on the Grand Line fifty years ago. Eli politely refused Robin's offer to lend her the book as she wanted to have as many surprises as possible during her own adventure. The girl's enthusiasm made the archaeologist chuckle kindly.

"Yo Twig," Ace greeted. "Robin," he said in a more reserved tone of voice as he looked a bit suspiciously at the black-haired woman.

"Freckles !" Eli beamed at her friend. "Do you want to join us ?"

"Sure," Ace said sitting down next to Eli.

Robin seemed to want to resume her shopping as she stood up almost right away.

"I'll leave you two alone." She gave the pair a little smile.

"See ya !" Eli waved happily and watched the archaeologist walking away.

"You like her, don't you ?" Ace asked seriously, as Robin's figure disappeared in the distance.

"I do. She's so mature, and confident, and mysterious..." Eli listed dreamily. "Yep, I like her."

Ace sighed, smiling lightly at his cheerful friend.

"Not to mention she's quite a beauty !" Eli pointed out as it was, in her opinion, a really important part of Robin's charm.

"You like girls now ?" Ace asked smugly.

"Of course I like girls..." Eli said slowly, frowning at the young man's odd question.

"I mean like... LIKE !"

"I don't understand..."

"Yeah, I'm sure you don't..." Ace stood up, fixing his hat with a smug smile on his freckled face.

"Hey tell me !" Eli whined, while paying briskly for her drink.

"Maybe when you grow up."

"What is that supposed to mean ?" Eli's frown furrowed. "I'm taller than you !"

Ace laughed childishly while Eli sped up to walk by his side, making a pouting face.

* * *

Walking through the streets of Kusai, the pair found Luffy stationed at a small place near a brochette stand. The boy was stuffing his rubbery mouth continuously, the waitress refilling his plates relentlessly. How brave she was, Eli thought while she and Ace were waiting at the stand to order some of the delicious-looking brochettes, too.

The said waitress was quite small and thin; however, she had extremely large breasts which Eli couldn't help but stare at in awe. She had a cute, delicate face framed by long and straight brown locks while a part of her hair were tied with a little red bow on the back of her head.

"Are you friends with him ?" the waitress asked while preparing their orders.

"Him...?" Eli asked.

"The boy wearing a straw hat," she specified, still focused on her brochettes.

"Oh... yes, he's our captain," Eli said giving the cute waitress a smile.

"Captain..." the waitress said softly. "Could you tell me his name please ?" she asked, turning around to fill the plates.

"His... name...?" Ace and Eli exchanged a glance, their faces turning red as they held back their laughs for they could see exactly where the girl was going.

She had a crush on Luffy.

_Oh, god..._ Eli turned around and held her mouth to prevent laughs from escaping as she didn't want to hurt the poor waitress's feelings.

"Luffy," Ace said with an amused tone of voice. "That's his name."

"Luffy..." the waitress repeated slowly as if she wanted to taste the name. "Thanks !" She took the plates and walked toward the boy's table with a large smile on her cute face.

Apparently, since they had given the information too easily, the two pirates weren't rewarded with their order which sadly and quickly ended in Luffy's stomach. Yet they didn't care, the girl had a crush on Luffy... Luffy, Luffy ! Rubbery, dumb, meat-lover Luffy... and that was only worth all the brochettes in the world.

Extremely excited at the odd situation, Ace and Eli hid in a nearby alley to spy on the strange couple. And that was how they spent the rest of their day... following them around, laughing at the multiple and unsuccessful flirty attempts of the waitress on Luffy. The boy was so terribly dense that the situation was highly comical for the two spies.

Yet the waitress was persistent. She took Luffy to a romantic flowery garden, but the boy didn't see a thing. Then she took him for a dance, and how funny it was; Luffy was willing to dance with the nice brochette girl but apparently not really skilled judging from her cries of pain. At last, she took the dense boy to a cliff where several couples were making out quite outrageously, but blind Luffy still didn't see a thing, and he left the poor desperate girl behind when he felt hunger striking his bottomless stomach once more.

Overall, it was an extremely good day, and Eli was so very glad to share it with Ace, for he was probably the best friend with whom to enjoy the fun of the situation.

Eli was about to walk away from the love cliff to meet up with the rest of the crew when Ace held her back, holding her hand.

"Let's stay here for a bit," Ace said with a warm smile on his face. "Okay ?"

Eli looked at the sun setting in the horizon and smiled as watching it with her dear friend seemed like a very good idea.

"Okay."

Eli sat down, and behind her, Ace wrapped his arms around her resting his chin on her shoulder. They both stayed there, laughing at Luffy's first date while the sun was slowly disappearing into the sea.

Within Ace's embrace, Eli felt protected, and glad. She was so happy of how their friendship had evolved; they still teased each other everyday like before, but now there was something more, something warm inside of her every time she saw his smiling face, something that prompted her to spend her time with him, something that made her feel that their friendship was the strongest bond she had ever had with anyone before. And Eli made the silent wish that it would remain like this forever.

"Eli," Ace said softly in her ear.

"Mmh ?"

"We should do this more often."

"Do what ?" Eli turned her head slightly to the side to look at his face from the corner of her eye.

"Hanging out..." Ace said. "Just the two of us."

Eli smiled. It had indeed been a very good day and apparently for him, too; there wasn't any reason not to reiterate it in the future.

"Sure," she nodded cheerfully.

to be continued

* * *

**Betaed by Iwin Ulose.**

_I'm back :D  
I missed And and Eli so much that I am really happy to be back._

_Thank you for all the reviews, I missed you guys !  
_

_I hope you enjoyed this calm chapter. We will stay on the sweet island of Kusai for one more chapter.  
And Twig will be updated on monday for more details on Ace and Eli's first date ;)_

_See you soon._


	46. Very Extremely Not Good

**Chapter 46  
Very Extremely Not Good**

After an other nice day on the island of Kusai the night of the festival was finally there, and the Straw Hats were determined to enjoy its loveliness to the fullest. A variety of booths lined up along the main street displayed all kinds of delicious roasted dishes and warm alcohols. Some were also selling souvenirs, while others proposed games. The whole town was illuminated with thousands of candle lights and torches making the whole scenery look extremely pretty and heart-warming.

The festival also featured a procession of dancers and acrobats wearing beautiful red, orange, and yellow costumes adorn with fluttering ribbons. The sight of the lovely dancers making Sanji swoon in delight, while the rest of the pirates watched their performances with jolly amazement.

Watching all this Eli easily understood why the fire festival was the favorite of the people of Kusai.

As the Ace's show was about to start the crew sat down on the grass and waited eagerly to see what their flamey crewmate had prepared for his audience. When the young man made appearance the crowd whooped loudly; he surely was a star that night, and from the smug look on his face Ace highly enjoyed the fame. For the occasion he was wearing a flame patterned shirt making Eli laugh mockingly at the appropriately themed piece of clothing.

The flame user's performance was entertaining, and very pretty; Ace shaped his fire in all kind of things. The most amazing, in Eli's opinion, being a huge flame dragon raising up high in the sky.

Despite of how dangerous and frightful fire was, that night it just seemed magical and bewitching.

The festival took the pirates long into the night. After Ace's performance they enjoyed a fireworks display while eating and drinking happily. Luffy, Usopp and Chopper did their stupid dance. Sanji flirted with all the girls that went by, his speech growing more and more slurred as Zoro kept refiling his glass with a large grin of his face. Nami drank a lot too and like always Eli awed at her surprising tolerance to a large amount of alcohol. Robin was silently watching the happy pirates, smiling warmly at their stupid games while Ace ate, drank, and laughed without restraints in the good company of his friends.

And at last, when the lights of the festival began to go out, the pirates started to shuffle one by one toward their hotel. Tired yet happy as drunken pirates could be.

As she was in a highly playful mood that night Eli demanded to be carried by the star of the festival. Amused, Ace complied and she climbed clumsily on his back while holding a sleeping Luffy by the arm.

"Oops ! Staiiiirs !" Eli said, pointing the 'obstacle' before giggling stupidly.

While Ace climbed up the stairs the both of them couldn't help but laugh watching Luffy's head bouncing on every staircases as it would be expected from the rubbery boy he was.

"Which floor...?" Ace asked, absently looking at the hotel corridor. He had apparently forgotten where the pirates' rooms were.

"Four !" Eli yelled out, completely unaware of her own loudness.

"No..." Ace muttered in disbelief. "Really ?"

"Yup ! Chop chop !" Eli ordered playfully, trying as hard as she could to hold back a laughter.

Ace grinned, held the girl's thighs tighter and climbed up the large staircases with all haste, dragging a very bouncing and thankfully unconscious Luffy behind them. Yet, once they had reached the fourth floor Eli couldn't hold her laughing fit anymore.

"I lied !" Eli managed to say despite of her convulsing laughter. "It was TWO !"

Chuckling like a child, Ace rapidly climbed down the stairs making the girl whoop joyfully as he jumped several staircases at once, landing on the floor with a loud thud. On the other side, the customers of the hotel weren't exactly amused as the careless pair heard some of them uttering harsh threats quite loudly.

After a few wrong guesses into finding the boys' room, making the occupants of the bedrooms yell at the very amused pirates, they threw Luffy negligently on his bed and went out of the room laughing goofily through the, thankfully, empty corridor.

"Now you !" Ace said and began the search of the girls' bedroom annoying the rest of the hotel's customers.

Right after opening the bedroom's door Eli dashed over to the large bed and bounced on it with a loud, muffled thud, while Ace entered the room laughing at the girl's childish behavior.

"It's not... my room !" Eli giggled, stretching her long arms and legs all over the mattress.

The girl was on a very large bed, the only one of the luxury furnished room. The moonlight was gently piercing through large opened windows. A fresh night breeze making the scarlet curtains flutter slowly.

"Ah..?" Ace looked around questioningly, and after a few seconds scratched the back of his head. "Oh yeah it's mine... Sorry." With a sheepish laugh the young man shrugged. "Well, looks like you won the royal suite !"

As he started walking toward the bedroom's door Eli sat up on her feet.

"Stay !" she said. The girl let her fingertips caress the silk bedding with a soft rustle. "It is _your _room after all !"

"... Are you sure ?" Ace asked.

"Yeeeeaaaahhh come ON !" Eli did not reconsider even on split of second, and motioned the young man to join her, patting the mattress while she chuckled foolishly.

After all, what was wrong about two friends sharing a bed ? Nothing surely, and they already did it before.

Ace threw his boots and hat away, and lay down on the bed roughly next to his happy friend. Eli tuck up her feet while giggling at the smiling young man, and brought her hand to his forehead to brush some stray strands of hair away from his freckled face. Amused, she stuck out the tip of her tongue as it made Ace go cross-eyed to look at the unwilling dark strands that kept falling on his face despite of the girl's multiple attempts to keep them still.

Definitely nothing wrong there either.

Therefore Eli didn't find any reason preventing her from shifting closer to Ace in order to warm herself up a bit against this heated body of his. The young man wrapped his strong arms around her, and Eli soaked in his delightful heat giving her warm and dear friend a large grin.

There was still nothing wrong with Eli playing with his shaggy hair while Ace was caressing the pale skin of her arms. It was completely innocent and meaningless. Just as meaningless as Eli slipping her hand under his opened shirt to tickle the young man's ribs mischievously, and just as innocent as Ace rolling on his back while holding her hips to tickle his jesting friend equally.

What could be wrong there ? Nothing obviously since they were both giggling stupidly. That was more than enough to prove that they were doing nothing worth calling 'wrong'.

Naturally, once their tickling fit had finally came to a stop Eli thanked her dear friend for his mercy giving him a soft kiss on his freckled cheek. An harmless kiss indeed, therefore doubtlessly nothing could be wrong with that. Nor with Eli lying on top of her smiling friend, nestling her head next to his with a deep sigh of contempt.

Eli found nothing wrong with Ace playing with the loose strap of her tank top. Not even when, once he was done playing, he laid quietly a kiss on her small shoulder. It was so not wrong that she even returned the gesture kissing his broad neck in the same fashion.

The two pirate friends didn't seem to find anything wrong in exchanging those soft and sweet kisses. After all, it felt so good and that was once more a very good proof that nothing was wrong there.

And then why would it feel wrong for Eli to run her fingers through his deliciously warm hair while Ace slipped his hands under her tank top to caress the skin of her thin back. After all friends were suppose to make each other happy, and giving her such pleasure Ace was definitely a very good friend to Eli.

But maybe it was wrong after all...

Maybe it was wrong for Ace to suck the lobe of his friend's ear, effectively sending shivers of delight throughout her body.

Perhaps it was wrong for Eli to feel pure bliss as the heated part between her spread thighs was pressed against her friend's hardened member, straining against the fabric of his shorts.

It might be very wrong indeed for Eli to rest her forehead on Ace's while his hands moved in circular motion slowly but surely toward the sides of her back. Her whole body quivering with pleasure when the warm skin of his large hands teasingly grazed the side of her small breasts.

After all the giggles had long died, only to be replaced by their erratic pants. And the amusement in their eyes had somehow morphed into pure, burning desire.

It was probably terribly wrong that while their intoxicated breaths caressed each other's faces Eli's lips lingered a breath away above Ace's. Unable to withdraw nor to push forward as it seemed that a tiny stronghold of will held their defenses there; in her heated lips.

Yet Eli's reason didn't mouth any complaint and she didn't seem to find anything wrong with Ace's hands fondling her breasts at last. She even uttered a loud and encouraging moan of pleasure, while arching her back upward involuntary. The sitting position causing her to rub slowly her hips along his length.

But maybe Eli's reason couldn't be heard since Ace occupied her every senses with delightful sensations; his natural smell mixing with that of the fruity liqueurs, the sounds of his erratic breaths and from time to time a low and so enticing groan, his experienced hands roaming over her sensitive skin, the taste of his warm skin, and the mesmerizing depth of his heated eyes...

There was surely something extremely wrong with Ace lifting himself upwards to brush Eli's lips with his as the ever so faint contact caused excitation to shoot up in her blurry mind. Entranced, his dear friend eagerly bared his delicious chest. And while the young man's hands held the small of her back, the regular and so exquisite frictions she exerted against his hardened member intensified, her moans becoming uncontrollably louder.

Yet Eli was drowning in a whirlwind of divine thrill, and it seemed that despite of how obviously wrong the whole thing was, nothing could get her out of it...

Except maybe for the sound of someone knocking at the door of the steamy bedroom.

Eli's green eyes snapped open as if she could see at last the position she and her friend were in. And how wrong it was. Her reason raced back in her mind, yelling, screaming the girl to get out of here as fast as she could as if her life depended on it...

Standing up on the spot, Eli jumped out of the opened window, not even caring what floor she was on. After landing roughly on the ground she started dashing frantically as if she was chased by a terrible enemy. And maybe she was... She arrived at the Merry within a few seconds yet that wasn't far enough. Therefore the desperate girl ran along the beach as fast as she could, welcoming the cold and harsh wind while hoping it would lower the temperature of her heated body.

Running along the beaches of the small island, Eli wanted nothing else than to keep on until she would faint.

Throwing her long leg forward, she blasted off from the sand. Feeling so light as she flew in the air while her hair fluttered rapidly. Until she hit the ground again... Prior to this, running had always made the girl feel so free. However this time the weigh on her chest did not seem to lessen no matter how many times Eli took off the ground, no matter how many the kilometers she covered. Each time her bare feet touched the sand, she felt her insides contracting within the grasp of her guilt.

And so Eli kept running, and all the while she tried to find something to blame for that huge mistake. Soon, she found herself stupidly accusing the alcohol. But deep inside, Eli knew that the alcohol was nothing but a mere trigger for a desire that she had concealed inside of her for a very long time, and that what she had done, no matter how wrong it was, she had done by her freewill.

Ever since Ace had told her about his past the two friends had grown closer. The moments they had spent together, the closeness they had shared were so precious to her... indispensable. But now everything was ruined, everything was lost. Because that time, the young man won't be leaving the next day like he did years ago when she had unleashed her want of him.

Ace will be here, and so will she... And Eli will have to face him everyday after this one.

As she kept running the images of the friend she had lost remained imprinted in the mind of the mortified girl; standing on the Merry who kept sailing forward, his strong body gave her a feeling of protection whenever he held her close. He was smiling at her and his childish grin gave her strength and the courage to believe that all the dreams she had they could achieve. His beautiful piercing eyes always seemed to understand her even if they didn't exchanged a word. His dark unkempt hair lovingly caressed by the sea breeze... He was a man of the sea; adventurous, brave, and strong and Eli had wished that he would remain by her side forever.

But their precious friendship was lost... It had vanished silently in the darkness of the hotel room they were in. It had left without a word, without giving them a second chance.

And now what remained ? A pirate girl wanting her crewmate so deeply, so badly, that her desire clawed her insides painfully, along with the guilt of such an impossible, such a _forbidden_ want.

Will she be able to laugh with him like she used to ? Will she ever be able to watch him in the eyes without thinking about how thrilled she felt when his hands roamed on her needy skin ? Will he laugh at her like he did after the incident in the winter kingdom ?

Maybe that would be for the best... Maybe if he laughed at her she could forget, and once more bury the need of his touch deep inside.

Eli collapsed on the beach for the legs couldn't carry her anymore. And after all that was what she wanted; fainting of exhaustion to have a dreamless night sleep. Because if her mind still had a remain of energy to make her dream, she would surely dream of him. And that would be ultimately wrong...

to be continued

* * *

**No beta this time :/**

_In my mind the hottest part of this chapter in associated with the music 'Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger' by Daft Punk (the mid part of the song). And so, whenever I hear it I can see Eli straddling Ace :P  
There is also an almost quote from the song 'The Garden of Everything' by Maaya Sakamoto, since I was listening to it over and over while writing._

_Anyway, it has been some time now since I wrote this chapter and as time went by I was starting to get more and more nervous about it.  
I love it, I planned it months ago, and I definitely want things to go that way but I'm nervous and curious to know your reactions...  
EXTREMELY curious !_

_So I'll be eagerly waiting for your reviews.  
See you soon :)_


	47. The Fugitive

**Chapter 47  
The Fugitive**

If Eli had to make a list of the worst waking ups she had experienced in her life, being pecked by half a dozen of seagulls would easily be in the top three.

Her eyes gradually cracking open, Eli tried to endure the excruciating rays of the morning sun. She brought her hand to her forehead, where apparently her heart had decided to move without her consent, throbbing painfully against her skull. And when her sleep haze faded out, the girl shooed the annoying birds away, wincing at the strident sounds of their screeches.

Sitting up groggily, Eli rubbed her puffy eyes, and with a loud yawn, the woozy girl looked around, slowly becoming aware of her surroundings. From what she could observe, she was in a deserted part of the island, on the beach, and the sun had already risen high in the sky.

_So east is somewhere over here..._ Eli thought, dizzily standing up. _But where the hell is the town... ?_

Looking alternatively at each side of the deserted beach Eli saw no indications of the way to the town, and watched absently the trench that she had dug while running frantically all around the small island.

With a deep sigh, she started walking toward the direction her empty and growling guts enjoined her to follow. Luckily, after a few minutes, she came across a little stream of fresh water. Crouching by its side, Eli freshened up her puffy face and drank to wash away the bad taste lingering in her furred mouth. Once she felt a little better, the pirate girl resumed to her walk along the beach, accompanied by the regular sound of the waves gently lapping the sand.

All the while, Eli did not think even one split of second about what she had done the previous night...

After almost an hour of lazy walk, Eli finally ended up finding the town, and soon, the port where the Merry was docked. On board, she could see that her crewmates were already packing in their stuff and some food supplies.

"Where have you been ?" Nami asked, apparently annoyed as an heavy frown appeared on her pretty face as soon as she saw her friend climbing on the ship. "The log post is set and we almost waited for you."

"Yeah... good morning to you too Nami," Eli said, rolling her eyes at the girl's rude greeting.

"I hope you got your stuff because we're leaving," the navigator added.

"Well..." Eli bowed her head to look at herself. "Give me a minute I have to get my bag and shoes."

"Got them," someone said from behind her.

And Eli instantly knew who it was. The voice was quite unmistakable after all. Hearing it she felt blood rushing out of her face while a mighty shiver ran down her spine.

"Great... Thanks," she said quietly, staring forward into space with wide, shocked eyes.

Eli noted that, apparently, her heart had came back into her chest, since it was now pounding violently against her rib cage as the images of the previous night came to haunt her groggy mind. Courageously, she started walking away, while fighting against a slight sensation of vertigo.

"You look pale Elisabeth~" Sanji said, his voice muffled as Eli's pulse was throbbing in her ears. "Are you hungry ?"

"I'm fine..." Eli managed to say while she walked dizzily over to the storage room. "Shower... I need a shower."

Once she had closed the door of the storage room, Eli glided down along the wood with a deep sigh, in order to calm her frantic heartbeat. Her body felt so cold, and her hands absently rubbing the skin of her arms to warm herself up did not seem effective enough.

_Oh, god..._ Eli looked at her trembling hands and awed at the effect two simple words had on her. Holding her head, the nervous girl wished that it was all a nightmare... but it wasn't. The excruciating and heated memory was very real, and so was the young man haunting her mind.

Clenching her fists weakly, Eli stood up using the wall for support, and went to her bedroom for a change of clothes. This was obviously needed for multiple reasons; the more important one being the need of leaving the ones she had been wearing when she was-

_Don't !_

Holding tightly the clean pieces of clothing against her pounding chest, Eli wearily climbed up the stairs. After entering the bathroom, she carefully locked its door. Once she had tested the doorknob several times for safety, she quickly slipped out of her evil clothes, throwing them roughly on the floor as if to punish them.

Under the hot water, Eli wished that it could wash away the sensations that remained imprinted on her bare skin. But obviously, no matter how much she would rub it, it would still linger there...

Ace's hands were so warm on her arms... then on her back... and finally on her breasts...

With an agonizing sigh, Eli roughly grabbed her small breasts as if to erase his gentle touch. Closing her eyes, she pressed her forehead to the wall, water running on her back. She was sure of it now, she was undoubtedly going mad. Behind her clenched eyelids the face of Ace remained. His half lidded eyes were burning with desire, pulling her into the recollection of the steamy hotel room...

"THAT'S IT !" Eli shouted, and turned off the hot water to jerk herself out of her heated fantasy with the help of a freezing shower.

Trembling cold, she dried herself rather quickly, slipped in her clean clothes and resolutely sat down on the bathroom floor. The girl had apparently decided to stay there until... well, she didn't know for how long she would bide there, but she was sure of one thing; she couldn't go out. Because behind that locked door, she would have no hiding places, and she would inevitably end up facing _him_.

And that was something that she couldn't endure, at least for now.

Eli shifted backwards a bit to lean her back against the wooden door. She brought her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs with a deep sigh.

"Eli ?"

The girl's eyes widened hearing Ace calling her from behind the bathroom's door.

"I know you're here."

_Oh, god..._ Eli stood up, and swung around like a shot. She stared at the door and walked backwards until her back hit the opposite wall, as if she was scared of the simple wooden door.

"Okay... I'll do the talking then."

Rapidly looking around, Eli found only one route of escape; the porthole.

"First, we can't deny what we did last-"

Eli opened the little window and slipped her head outside. The railing seemed a bit far, yet, she was sure she could manage to reach it with the help of her long arms. Of course the sea was just below, and if she fell she'd end up dead, purely and simply. However, Eli didn't seem to care about that frivolous matter for now.

She got back in the bathroom to take the chair, as it would help her in the delicate procedure.

"-are both adult and we were quite aware of what we were-"

Slipping her head through the porthole was easy. However passing through her shoulders was a different kettle of fish; she had to slip one arm first.

_Damn !_

"-know you're scared but you have to-"

Twisting and turning she managed to slip both her shoulders. Eli pushed herself with her hands while trying her best to keep her balance on the small sill of the porthole.

"ELI !" Luffy yelled from above her, making the fugitive jerk her head upward. "What are you doing ?" Apparently he was going to fish since he was holding his fishing rod over the railing.

"GYAAAH !" Eli screamed in disgust as his bait was swinging awfully close to her face. "Take that away from meeee !"

The entomophobe let out a sigh of relief as Luffy withdrew the repugnant worm, and resumed to her escape. She pushed a little forward while trying to grab the ship's edge, under the puzzled stare of her young captain.

Stretching her hand, she felt her fingertips brushing against the wood. _Almost there..._ Eli winced as her hips seemed stuck in the little window. Who could have thought that one day the skinny girl would have wished to be even more curve-less.

Hearing the sound of heavy footfalls closing in Eli's eyes widened in fear.

"I can't believe you !" Ace said, leaning over the railing, a dark frown on his face. "Just how old are you !"

Eli was stunned for a second as her terrified eyes met with his. Her heart stopped, and her body froze in the stupid position she was in. Obviously, she wasn't ready to see him yet. Gathering herself, she managed to snap out of it. Eli slipped her hands inside of the porthole to pull herself back in the bathroom, and flee the flame user's burning eyes on her.

"Oh no you're NOT !" Ace growled before dashing away.

And Eli didn't know what to do... Go in ? Go out ? Apparently she had no escape possible from him. But her dilemma was shortly resolved as she found herself completely stuck in the small window.

Hearing a loud, crashing sound coming from the bathroom, Eli gulped audibly... _He_ was here, and apparently not very happy.

"LUFFYYYYYYYY !" she yelled out as she felt two large hands grabbing her ankles. "HELP ME !"

Her big, desperate eyes locked on his, she stretched her hands in his direction. But the teenager only grinned, and quite widely at that.

Feeling Ace pulling her in, Eli contracted her shoulders just in time before they passed through the porthole. The girl hit the floor with a loud thud, and found herself instantly pinned beneath Ace. He was blasting an heavy glare at her, his hands capturing her forearms beside her head.

With all her might and will Eli tried to tear out of his hold but didn't manage to budge at all.

"You are very strong, very very strong. You know that ? Well I'm sure you do." Eli blabbered her head rolled upward to avert his gaze. "You don't seem to work out as much Zoro does, though. I wonder if you're stronger-"

"I like you Eli."

Eli swallowed hard, and rolled her head a bit farther away from him.

"-than him," she continued as if she hadn't heard a thing. "Maybe you could do some kind of contest, you know, to test that out or something. Arm-wrestling obviously, yet Sanji would have to use his leg 'cause-"

"You're unbelievable !" Ace interrupted her endless flow of words with a very annoyed tone of voice. "You heard me, right ?"

At that, Eli was silent at last. Of course she had heard him, he was hovering only a few centimeters above from her. She could even feel his breath on her neck. Yet, what he had said would have better stayed unheard, because what he had said was ultimately impossible, and possibly the biggest lie she had ever heard.

"... Yes I heard. And no, you do not."

"What !" Ace said bewilderingly. "That wasn't a question Eli !"

Despite of the situation she was in, Eli was finally calm. She rested her head on the floor with a deep sigh, and gravely looked at Ace, her eyes diving into his. He was her friend, and because they were friends, above all, yet, nothing more, she couldn't let him say what he had said.

"Maybe I can't deny what we did... Even though it was obviously a big, _big_, mistake..." Eli said with resignation. "But I certainly won't let you try to find an excuse for it by putting stupid and nonexistent feelings into it."

"What ?" Ace's looked at her incredulously.

"Be realistic, you just want to have fun with me. And there is no way that you 'like' me, because you are you and I am..." Eli paused, sighing again. "Well, I am me."

"And what is that suppose to mean ?" His black eyebrow went up making Eli roll her eyes at the ingenuousness of the young man.

"Even if we put aside the fact that we are friends, and that friends don't 'like' each other the way you implied," Eli said in a very teaching manner, which _could_ have been quite impressive if she wasn't pinned beneath Ace, on the bathroom's floor. "There's no way that I believe you because... because you and I is a thing that could never happen."

"And why is that ?"

The serious lesson Eli was giving Ace did not have the effect predicted on the young man, as a smug smile appeared on his face, making Eli question his intelligence... or hearing. Because in her opinion she was explicit enough, and she shouldn't have to add anything to make him understand, and agree, to her rational point of view.

"Listen. Let's say I'm Luffy," Eli began, as apparently Ace needed some tangible example to understand her reasoning.

"Oh, god." Ace started laughing. "And who am I ?"

Eli frowned. Why couldn't he take her seriously for once ? It was very clear that she wasn't trying to be comical there.

"You are..." Eli took time to think, while Ace's eyes lit with amusement. Nami ? Vivi ? Robin ? No, none of them were enough shocking to be a good example... _Oh, I know !_

"Empress Hancock !" she finally said.

Eli peered at Ace's face, waiting for his epiphany since, with the help of her perfect example, there was no way he could not understand, at last. But Ace didn't seem to understand as he was the perfect picture of surprise; his eyebrows raised high up on his forehead, his eyes so wide opened that it almost looked like they were about to pop out of their orbits, and his mouth gaping stupidly.

Yet, Eli ignored it all, and continued with her demonstration.

"Now, imagine the Empress Hancock _liking_ Luffy..." she trailed off as Ace started laughing loudly, tears forming in the corner of his eyes, and thankfully releasing the girl from his tight grip.

"Impossible !" Ace managed to say during his laughing fit.

Eli rubbed her aching forearms while observing Ace laughing and rolling on the floor. Maybe the image of Luffy and the gorgeous Hancock was too much for him after all... But finally, he seemed to understand. There was no way that a man such as him could like a girl such as her. The flame user had obviously misinterpreted his alcohol-induced sexual crave for something else. Maybe he liked her, but not in a romantic way, Eli was sure of it. She had always been sure of it.

A small smile on her face as the previous awkwardness had vanished during their little argument, Eli slowly stood up, yet, as she was about to walk out of the room, Ace slammed his hand on the wall next to her head, making her squeak in surprise. The girl turned around and pressed her back to the wall, trying to create as much distance as possible between him and her.

"Are you aware..." he began quietly, his smug face dangerously closing in on hers, "... that you just compared me to the most beautiful woman in the world...?"

And with that Eli's face instantly flushed in embarrassment. Drooping her head to avert his deep, roguish gaze, she persistently stared at her feet, for the sight of his muscular chest showing through his opened shirt wasn't quite more endurable.

"Well... you are... quite... sometimes... I guess... slightly... good-looking...?" Eli stammered, her face burning up with every words that managed to pass through her tightened throat.

And there he went; laughing again at the completely mortified girl. Yes, he was good-looking, and attractive, and popular... Extremely at that. And those were the very reasons why Eli knew that it was impossible for him to like her. Yet, making her admit it out loud and then laughing at her for it, was purely and simply, mean.

Impulsively, Eli clenched her fist and hurled it in his laughing face, making him shut up, at last.

After blasting him with a glare of pure hatred, Eli tried to walk out of the bathroom once more. But once more Ace held her back. A frown on his face, the young man pined her between the wall and his heavy chest, and pressed his forehead to the wall next to her head with a deep sigh.

"I really like you..." he said.

Those sweet words and the seductive tone of Ace's voice felt like a punch in Eli stomach, making her shudder with fear.

"And now I'm sure that you too." Ace lifted his face to gaze deeply into her frightened, green eyes. "So you can struggle all you want... But I'll work my way under your skin Elisabeth..."

to be continued

* * *

**Still to beta... I hope you don't mind, but I didn't want to make you wait, and I tried my best to correct everything on my own. **

_So, now you got your confession.  
Yet, it is so impossible for Eli, that she just thinks that Ace lied just to have 'fun' with her.  
And now he's _threatening_ her (quite seductively). Not a very bright move if he wanted Eli to believe him._

_I like Eli's escape... A lot :) _

_I hope you enjoyed that chapter, and see you on Monday for the next ;)_

_Got an other gift YAY !  
It is from __**Tropicall**__ and you can see it on my profile.  
Thank you my dear __Tropicall__ for this gift 'from a writer to an other' :D _


	48. The Cheshire Cat

**Chapter 48  
The Cheshire Cat**

Eli didn't really know what Ace had planned to 'get under her skin', but she really didn't want to find out. The seductive threat was scary enough for her to avoid thinking about what he might do. Therefore, the rest of the day, and the next, the girl kept running away from him.

Thanks to her devilish speed, she reacted as quick as lightning each time that in the corner of her eyes he appeared. When that happened, Eli just disappeared like a flash in some other part of the ship, preferably farthest away as possible. Her reactions were so quick, and her fear so keen, that she didn't even wait to make sure it was really him. And consequently, fled some others crew-members like the plague; Zoro for his heavy footsteps, as well as Nami since the color of her hair reminded Eli of _his_ flashy hat.

Yet, one can't be too cautious when dealing with the Portgas.

Of course the meals were a problem. Running all day long, the edgy girl needed her rations of energy more than ever. However, being with the whole crew gave her a certain feeling of safety, and she once again used her devil power to eat with all haste before fleeing away.

At first, the Straw Hats were slightly, and rightly, puzzled at her twitchy behavior. But soon, they got used to it, thinking that she was just on hyper mode because of either a sugar rush, or the feeling of seclusion that was getting on her nerves. In any case nothing really unusual, nor alarming, in their opinion.

And so the days went by. Eli managed to avoid the Portgas skillfully, at the mere cost of her mental health and her body fatigue. The nights were much more troublesome, though. Because once the sun had disappeared, and the other pirates gone to bed, Eli was left alone with her disturbing memories. Closing her eyes, she couldn't stop her mind from replaying, again and again, her porn moment in the hotel bedroom of Kusai.

So there she was; her eyes wide open, her hands tightly clutched on her blanket, and her legs ready to jump at the slightest sound, suspicious or not.

No, Eli had no idea what the flame user had planned to 'get under her skin', but why would he even trouble himself with doing anything since he was already within every last of her cells ?

It was a fact, the girl was going crazy. So why wouldn't she just give up ? After all, she wanted him too, so why was she fighting so hard...?

The truth was that Eli was utterly scared. Scared of the unknown. Scared of being defenseless before the man that was once her friend. Scared of what she might do under his smoldering eyes. Scared that if she finally surrendered, their precious friendship would be lost forever...

And somewhere deep, _deep_ inside, Eli was scared of falling in love with him...

Maybe if she resisted a bit more, _just a little bit more_, he would just give up. And then, maybe, Eli could get back to the comfortable and securing position of the good friend.

Therefore, Eli couldn't let go.

Out of exhaustion, she finally fell asleep. But too soon, Ace joined her in her dreams. Tormented and sulfurous dreams; bare bodies intertwined... sweat and steam... whines and cries...

After less than a few minutes of restless sleep, Eli woke up with a start. Panting erratically, her body was on fire. Sweat rolling disagreeably from her forehead and in her nape, her heart pounding violently against her rib-cage; the whole state of excitation mixed with guilt, making her whole body shudder.

_Oh, god... _The nervous girl ran her trembling fingers through her sweaty bangs, and tried to breath normally while her erotic fantasy slowly faded away from her mind.

Her desire was eating her from the inside, and at that rate she wouldn't last long. She obviously had to find a way to deal with _him_. Making him reconsider his position, so that she could be at peace. After all she wasn't so special, merely a second class trophy for his collection. And so, maybe if he understood the pain she was going through, he would just let go and find an other victim.

But talking with him had proven itself completely useless. After all, now he _knew_ that she wanted him, and that gave him the whip hand over her. He was slowly baking her, without even doing a thing, and soon, Eli would serve herself on a silver platter. Surrendering her needy body to him willingly.

With an agonizing sigh, Eli stood up, and quietly walked out of the bedroom.

The night breeze cooling down her heated skin, the star-lover gazed at the celestial bodies glistering brightly in the dark sky. Were her people looking at her right now ? If they were, they would surely glare down at her with reprobation.

Sighing again, Eli climbed up the stairs and, before entering the lounge room, checked the windows. Because with her luck, _he _surely would be there, and again, one can never be too careful when dealing with the _mischievous_ Portgas. After all he seemed to be always there when she was the most vulnerable... Fortunately, and for once, the room was very empty. Her mind at ease, Eli entered the room and quickly served herself a glass of milk with a spoon of honey.

Sucking absently the spoon, Eli crashed her cheek wearily in the palm of her hand.

_Why it had to be me...?_

Turning over and over the situation in her mind, the girl couldn't understand how it had happened. Things were going so well between them. And then, within the space of an hour, everything was ruined... Eli missed his friendship, but she couldn't even blame him... _She _had outrageously made the moves on him, _she _had offered him to stay in the bed...

_Wait ! HE brought me to HIS room ! _Eli's eyes widened upon the realization of her, almost, innocence.

But even if it was utterly, or partly his fault; the things that she let him do to her... the things that _she _did to him...

Eli let her forehead hit the table and closed her eyes, wishing for a moment of peace within her tortured mind.

* * *

The strong and roasty smell of the coffee titillating her nostrils, Eli slowly awaken. The tea-girl had never managed to bring herself to like the taste of this bitter drink, but its subtle, yet fierce scent was one of the best thing one could wake up to, in her opinion.

Almost as nice as Ace's smiling face.

As her vision became slightly clearer with ever flutter of her eyelids, Eli returned the smile heartily. His lovely freckles, his tender gaze; yes, seeing Ace smiling at her was probably the best thing that she could wake up to. However, as her mind slowly restarted, a warning was heard within her drowsy self.

_This man is dangerous. Do not let yourself be fooled by the childish freckles and the warm smile. I repeat: this man is dangerous !_

Eli's eyes snapped open, her smiling face morphing into surprise, and soon into alarm as she became aware of the situation she was in. With a gasp, as she had been taken completely off-guard, Eli briskly straighten up and turned her head to avert the young man's charming gaze.

Looking forward, Eli was surprised, as well as relieved, to see that she wasn't alone with Ace; Robin was here too. Sitting across of her, a small and ever so lovely smile on her face.

_What the hell...?_

They were both looking at her, heartily, and that was somehow _disturbing_... Yet, she didn't mouth a word, and the three pirates remained silent, two of them apparently amused at the third one. For how long they had been here was completely unknown to Eli, but in any case, and even if it was only for a few minutes, that didn't lessen the awkwardness of the situation.

"What ?" she finally said with a creaked voice. Vigorously rubbing her sleepy face, the nervous girl shifted on the bench to create distance between Ace and her.

"You just looked so cute that we couldn't bring ourselves to wake you up," Robin said, and chuckled while looking at Eli with amusement.

_Right..._

Eli stood up with haste to walk out of the dangerous room, but she found herself held back as Ace held her wrist. On the spot, she jerked her head in the direction of Robin, and gave the woman a desperate look, hoping that she would help her out of the pinch she was in. But to her surprise, and utter disappointment, the archaeologist stood up with a little smile on her face and politely excused herself. Stunned by the raven haired woman's cruelty, Eli's eyes followed her as she walked out of the room, and gulped audibly when she slowly closed the door, leaving the poor girl and her torturer behind.

"So... How have you been ?" Ace asked from behind her, and Eli could almost _hear _the smirk on his face.

"Not bad, not bad." Eli slowly turned around and forced her lips into a casual smile. "How about you ?"

"Fine," Ace said. As the young man took a step toward her, Eli briskly took a step back, smiling stiffly. "I've missed you, you know ?"

Even though the words were sweet, the smugness of his tone made Eli swallow hard through her throat, tightened in fear and apprehension. For every step he took, she moved backwards, while trying to keep a straight face.

"Well... heh, I've been fine, you've been fine, everything's... fine... great..." The nervous girl sputtered the words rapidly and confusedly, making Ace's smirk grow even more devious. "Gotta go now !" How much she faked cheerfulness was very obvious.

"You're really pretty," he said, threateningly closing in on her.

However, staring at his mischievous face, Eli couldn't help but hear 'I'm gonna eat ya.'

"Thank-" Eli began to say, as if to ignore the dangerous situation she was in, but she was interrupted as her back hit the wall. Ace was extremely skilled into making the girl forgetting about the existence of these obstacles.

Her back to the wall, literally and figuratively, Eli rapidly looked around for an escape route while the Cheshire cat brought his hand to her shoulder to hold her firmly against the wall. And at that moment, she could _swear_ she saw him lick his lips.

_Oh, god... _Even if she might had the strength to tear out of his hold, Eli was petrified in fear.

"You know, I tried to talk to you." The hand that was holding her wrist slowly slid up her arm, and rested snugly on her hip.

"But you're really stubborn Eli." Ace moved closer and Eli felt his dangerous warmth engulfing her, draining her from the flimsy strengths she still had...

"I've been patient..." His words floated to her ears, and barely reached her mind as Eli was mesmerized by his heated eyes. "But patience doesn't work with you."

Under his eyes, Eli's fragile will to fight gradually vanished. Those dark, burning eyes. They made her feel so weak... They were so deep, and so dangerous; the hell's pit... And her primal instincts were pulling her into them, pushing her to jump in for better, or more likely, worse.

Under his eyes, she wanted to let go and let herself be like any other girl. Just a normal girl, not the friend, not the crewmate. Just a girl who would let him play with her like he would with any other girl.

Her chest heaving slowly, her pants grew harder as the air around her turned hotter by the second. Eli felt herself simmering up under the flame user's smoldering eyes, and, without saying anything more, Ace lay his heated lips on her neck, earning a long, and agonizing gasp from her.

Gentle at first, his kisses quickly grew more passionate; sly and fierce, yet affectionate, just like him. His mouth skillfully lavished her skin where her pulse throbbed rapidly, sweat building all over her body as Ace's temperature rose several degrees hotter. Unresponsive, Eli kept staring absently forward, while her insides turned and twisted at the rate of her rapid heartbeats. Ace slid his large hands on her back, grabbed her hips, and pulled her closer, making Eli's body thrill as she felt bones and raw muscles pressed against her.

Melting slowly within his sovereign embrace, Eli wasn't quite sure if all her reasons to resist were valid. What reasons anyway ? She couldn't grasp them anymore as they slowly grew distant, disappearing in the heated darkness that surrounded her.

Maybe if she just let go, just this once, it could ease the excruciating pain her body was going through.

_Just this once._

Closing her eyes, Eli let herself float absently feeling Ace's lips creeping firmly up her neck... behind her ear... She wearily arched her head on the wall, a deep sigh escaping her lips as she let go of her mental restraints. And silently, the pain vanished along with the air she exhaled.

_Just this once..._

Her eyes closed, Eli let her hands edge up along the delicious bare skin of his chest. The fabric brushing the back of her hands as they slid under his shirt, she savored every sensations without an ounce of guilt. Ace's hot breath was delightfully caressing her ear as he nestled his cheek on hers, in a moment of pure tenderness.

Eli felt his hands ghosting up her body to cup her cheeks, gently. She felt Ace pressing his forehead on hers, her bangs softening as his heat slowly diffused through her hair. Did he say something ? Eli wasn't sure since all of her senses had shut down in favor of her touch.

She felt his breath on the sensitive skin of her parted lips, and, at that moment, Eli and Ace shared the same air...

Ensorcelled, the girl did not notice that Ace was gradually falling toward the floor until she heard him hit the floor with a thud.

Eli gasped loudly, her eyes snapping open, and blinked while she stared at Ace with wide, green, and completely incredulous eyes.

Narcolepsy... It really catches you off-guard...

Gaping foolishly at Ace sleeping figure lying on the wooden floor, Eli surprisingly found herself chuckling at the stupidity of the situation, her desire instantly replaced by hilarity. But what was she waiting for ? She was free at last, and without wasting one more second, the girl ran away with all haste. As soon as she walked out of the room, Eli burst out in laughter, completely forgetting the fact that she had surrendered herself to him, even if it was only for a few seconds, and that it had felt divinely good.

to be continued

* * *

_Yeah, I know... you hate me ! So does Ace I'm afraid.  
Yet , yummy, wasn't it ? :)_

_See you next on Twig to see the hotness from the inside._


	49. A Chronicler Overboard

**Chapter 49  
A Chronicler Overboard**

Thanks to Ace's hilarious narcoleptic fit, Eli felt more at ease, and managed to enjoy a few hours of restorative sleep. And when she woke up, refreshed, the girl conveniently forgot her previous sources of anxiety.

Yawning and stretching, she sat up and groggily rubbed her eyes. Sluggishly looking around, Eli noticed that she was alone in the girls' bedroom, and seeing the bright light radiating from the porthole, she guessed that the reason was that she must have overslept. It was a very unusual thing for Nami to let her do so, yet the bossy redhead had probably wanted to show some mercy considering the girl's edginess the past few days.

With one last yawn, Eli stood up and searched through the chest of drawers for a change of clothes before climbing up the stairs to take an invigorating shower. The cold water finishing to wake the girl up.

After a large breakfast, Eli picked up her log book. Contentedly, she lay down on the wooden deck, enjoying the sun's warm caress on her pale skin as she started to write down the latest events. Here and there, her crewmates were scattered on their own corners of the ship. They were keeping themselves busy with their usual activities; gazing at the horizon, telling outrageous lies, listening to amazing stories, flirting relentlessly, sun-bathing, reading, napping, and weightlifting.

Lying on her stomach, Eli held the pages tightly as a sudden sea breeze made them rapidly flutter. Once the warm breeze was gone, she ran her fingers through her messy hair, rustling softly against her ears. It was nice. Being able to enjoy her pirate life without concern. With a sigh of content, the chronicler resumed to her log book.

She was writing about the Flame Festival in Kusai. Illustrating her descriptions with sketches of the dancers and of the town illuminated with thousand of candles, a hearty smile on her face as her mind was filled with the memory of its loveliness. However, when she reached the part of Ace's performance, her heart started to make itself heard slightly.

Eli closed her book, put her pen down and clenched her trembling fingers repeatedly. Maybe she could just skip that part... it wasn't even interesting after all.

Sighing, she rolled on her side using her book as a pillow.

Her eyes sluggishly wandering around, the sight of Ace soon caught Eli's attention; he was sitting against the railing, a soft breeze lovingly stroking his raven hair. The young man was looking at her. For a second, when their eyes met, Eli could almost feel his warmth catching her, but seeing a smile appearing on his freckled face, she snapped out of her short daze and glared at him.

"What ?" Eli frowned at the young man, utterly irritated by his insistent stare.

His soft smile morphing into a smirk, Eli felt her cheeks heating up. She sat up and took her log book on her lap, stubbornly pretending to read.

"Stop looking at me, moron !" she said harshly, staring at one sentence, yet unable to grasp its meaning no matter how many times her eyes glided upon the words.

There was a moment of silence then. Eli could still feel his dark eyes on her, edginess growing along with the redness of her cheeks. And then, in the corner of her eye, she saw him stand up, darkness covering her, and soon cold enveloped her body with a shiver as Ace stood imposingly before the sun.

"God, Eli..." He sighed heavily. His arms folded, the young man looked rather condescending. "Why are you playing so hard to get ?"

What Eli heard though, which was much more preferable, was : _'Please kick me in the face'_.

So she did.

The flame user flew for a second, maybe two, before plunging in the water with a loud 'splash' that caused the other pirates to go prairie dogging in search of the source of the sound. As if nothing happened, Eli sat down and continued with her book. Her heart was still racing, but her anger was satisfied, at least.

After that, someone must have fished him up, not that she cared though, since he was standing in front of her. Dripping wet, a small puddle was expanding at his feet.

"Okay, that came out wrong," Ace said. His tone of voice was clearly sorry, but did not manage to affect the girl's resentment.

"Oh, really ?" she said coldly, still staring at the pages of her book.

Eli knew that he was looking at her, and under his unbearable stare, her grip on her book tightened, nails digging in the leather cover with a soft squeaking.

_Playing hard to get.._. Did he really think it was a game for her ? How wrong he was, and how insulting ! No, she wouldn't forgive him that easily. These past few days were hard on her. The girl had been carried along with feelings that she could not understand, nor control, and the anger she felt at this instant was almost like a release.

With a long sigh, Ace crouched down in front of her. He was obviously trying to make eye contact, but Eli didn't want to look into his inky eyes, for she knew how weak they could make her feel.

Staring down at her book, she focused on the words, on the letters, intensively. A short gasp escaped her mouth as she saw a drop of water falling from his wet hair on the page, on _her _page. Eli briskly stood up and took a few steps back while staring at the salty water diffusing on the paper, the words deforming slowly as the water dissolved the dark ink.

It was small, it was insignificant, yet rage started burning up inside of the chronicler. Like a shot, she raised her head from the book and blasted him with a glare of pure hatred that stunned the young man on the spot.

"Oi..." he quietly said, something like incomprehension in the eyes. "It's just a drop of water..."

Eli huffed scornfully. _Just a drop of water..._

It was so much more than that, it was the _last _drop that made the furious girl overflow. With a grunt, Eli used the brim of her t-shirt to roughly sponge the damages, ink staining the blue fabric.

As the young man stared at her wordlessly, she slammed her book closed, and gazed harshly at him. Under her burning glare, Ace seemed to gradually lose his composure. Speechless, they stayed silent for a moment, Eli letting her wrath submerge her as the young man looked more scared with every passing second. She wanted him to leave her sight, she wanted him to leave her in peace but then... something hit the top of her head.

_Eh ?_

Looking at the projectile that had fallen next to her feet, Eli blinked in incomprehension.

It was a chunk of rotten wood.

Wondering who could have thrown that to her, Eli looked around and soon saw multiple chunks and planks raining with loud thuds as they hit the deck.

_What the..._

The whole crew looked just as surprised as her, but that was nothing compared to the look on their faces when they rose their heads toward the sky. Gasping in utter astonishment, the girl could barely form the words in her head to decrypt the sight of the most impossible thing she had ever seen...

Upside down, a huge galleon was falling from the sky.

Stunned, Eli could only follow the course of the galleon with her wide opened eyes as it threateningly got closer to the Merry. She was surely dreaming, or hallucinating, because there was no way _this _could be real...

However, as the galleon hit the water with a the loud splashing sound, Eli couldn't deny it anymore, it was real... A galleon had just fallen from the sky before her very eyes, and its dive in the ocean next to the Merry created enormous waves that shook the little ship violently, making the pirates lose their balance.

The vigorous shaking pulled Eli to the side of the ship. She stumbled to the railing, and as she had been taken completely off-guard, the chronicler lost grip of her precious log book. Swinging her head around, she saw it flying toward the sea, fear sweeping over her. Her precious treasure was drifting away and if it touched the water, all the words, all the drawings, all the memories that she had spent days to record would irreversibly dissolve in the salty water...

Instinctively, Eli jumped over the railing to catch it, while completely ignoring her own safety. Extending her long arms, the chronicler felt relieved when her hand closed on its cover and it was only then that she felt herself plummeting toward the stormy waters.

Within her fall the girl managed to swirl her body and thrust her arm toward the ship, wincing as her nails clawed the wood. But her hold was too fickle, and the Merry was still violently tossing about. Gritting her teeth as she lost her grip, Eli was falling again. When a hand appeared in her confused field of vision, she grabbed it just in time, however, when she saw to whom it belonged, the girl let it go in a primal reflex of repulse.

Falling ineluctably toward the sea, Eli saw the bewildered look on Ace's face, and in a last gasp, she threw him her precious book before diving into the cold waters.

Sinking straight to the bottom, Eli's mind slowed down almost immediately, the silence of the ocean clashing utterly with the chaos prevailing aboard the ship. Numbed, the girl absently watched the galleon floating above her, and before losing consciousness, her last thought was that, in spite of its poor state, she found it magnificent...

* * *

With a violent coughing fit tearing her throat from the inside, Eli expelled the salty water from her lungs. Her whirling sight becoming clearer, she saw the whole crew gathered around her, relieved looks on their faces. After wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, she forced her lips into a smile, vaguely hearing their friendly words through her flooded ears.

"I'll just... rest a bit," Eli said with a creaked voice, a harsh sensation in her throat.

She slumped down wearily and watched them walking away one by one... except for Ace who stayed there, standing still next to her. Trailing up his legs, she smiled seeing her log book in his hand.

"My book," she said happily, reaching out so that he would give it back to its rightful owner.

Relieved, Eli held it tight above her, looking heartily at the Straw Hat's jolly roger carved in its leather cover, so warm compared to the coldness of her hands.

"DAMN IT ELI !"

The yelling forcibly reaching her ears startled the chronicler out of her glee, almost making her jump in fear.

"Stupid BLOCKHEAD ! Why did you let go !"

She was so stunned at Ace's roaring that she couldn't find the words to say anything, not that he would let her get a word in...

"Just how STUBBORN are you ? You could have died ! IDIOT !"

Gaping at Ace's fit of rage, Eli was speechless. Speechless because she had never seen him so angry, and speechless because he was utterly right... She had put her life in danger just because she couldn't stand to hold his hand. How stupid was that...? It was not like she had decided to let go though; her body had reacted on its own in a self preservation reflex.

"I'm sorry..." Eli quietly said, looking away as guilt made it impossible for her to look at him.

And with a grunt Ace heavily walked away. His frustrated footfalls resonating on the wooden deck, Eli nervously clutched her book against her wet t-shirt.

The girl found herself feeling really stupid at that moment. Before her 'fall' in the sea, _she _was angry at him and her reasons now seemed so silly facing a real, and rightly deserved fit of anger.

With a sigh, Eli rolled on her back placing her book to her side, the sun's heat warming her cold and wet body. She felt so tired, not only because of her drowning, but because of the roller-coaster of emotions she was in whenever she was facing Ace recently. Her pirate's life was already full of twists and turns, she didn't need her emotional life to be in such a mess as well.

A large puddle forming beneath her, Eli rolled away to a dried part of the wooden floor.

Obviously, she would have to apologize. Yet, as this idea made her guts wrench, she decided to wait a bit to calm down before talking to Ace. She would need her composure to deal with him. However, apparently the younger D. brother wasn't going to leave her in peace as he came walking over to her, a large, ecstatic grin on his face.

"Eli get up !"

She sighed while looking at his childish face, gathered up her patience, and sat up.

"What's up Luffy ?"

"We're going to a sky island !" Luffy said cheerfully, pointing his finger up in the air.

_A what ?_ Naturally, Eli looked upward, not quite sure what she was looking at. Nothing unusual there.

She shifted her stare to him while replaying his sentence a few times in her head before slapping her forehead.

_The galleon !_

How could she have forgotten about this huge ship falling from the sky ? Obviously that was what lead the teenager into talking about a sky island. Somehow, somewhere, in a really creative mind, it made sense; the galleon _could _have fallen from a sky island... if such things existed.

"Sky islands don't exist Luffy." Eli sighed. _It would be really nice though..._

To that, the young captain's grin widened, his dark eyes sparkling with excitement. He grabbed her hand and pulled her up to the other pirates. Eli looked in disbelief at a casket lying on the deck. Robin was investigating its 'owner' while Nami and Chopper were hidden behind the mast, eying the archaeologist working, disgust showing all over theirs faces.

"Show her Nami," Luffy said, pointing a thumb at the chronicler.

"Show me _what_ ?" Eli asked.

This was getting more and more mysterious, therefore Eli walked over to the navigator in need of an explanation. Without a word, Nami held out her wrist right under the girl's eyes, and looking at the Log Pose, they widened in amazement.

It was pointing up.

Eli didn't need more proof to become a believer. After all, the Log Pose could not be wrong. Raising her head to look at the sky, a gleeful smile made its way to her cheeks as she tried to picture the fairy-land floating somewhere above them, Luffy's cries of joy floating in the air.

Her green eyes lost in her rêverie. Eli brought a hand to her fluttering hair and sighed in delightful joy before looking around to share her happiness with her best friend. However, Eli's smile faded seeing the coldness in his dark eyes.

It was during those moments that she missed Ace's friendship the most, because he was the one with whom she wanted to live them with the most...

to be continued

* * *

**Betaed by Fox MC.**

_Okay, I said that in latest 'Twig' chapter but since you don't all read 'Twig', here I go again._

_Got a new beta, so let's all welcome him warmly.  
I hope we'll make a good team, and that together we'll give you good and entertaining chapters._

_Now, if you wonder about my previous beta. Well, sadly, __**Iwin Ulose**__ didn't have that much free time anymore.  
Still, he's a wonderful writer, and he writes about One Piece too. So, go check his fanfics.  
_

_Chapter note now._

_This wasn't a fun chapter for our lovely couple... I predict some drama to come.  
I hope you enjoy emotional roller-coasters, because you've hopped on the train along with Eli.  
Whether you want it or not.  
_

_See you on Monday, to see if she manages to make proper apologies to Ace.  
Until then I'll be waiting for your reviews !_

_By the way, we hit the 300 mark ! Thank you all for your support, you brighten my days ;D  
_


	50. Impossible Things

**Chapter 50  
Impossible things**

Hearing a rumble, Eli steadied the barrel she was pushing and ran to catch the one that was rolling away.

"Thanks," Usopp said, when she came back with the fugitive, and without delay, he returned to his craft.

Watching the marksman sawing holes in the barrels, Eli couldn't help but being slightly skeptical. From her basic knowledge, salvaging a sunken ship required real equipment, and planks and tubes stuck together hardly fit the description. However, Usopp's handiness was almost legendary, therefore she chose to keep her doubts to herself and wait for the result.

"Can I help with something else ?" Eli asked, tilting her head side to side to peer at the marksman's carpentry.

The teenager shook his head silently, apparently extremely focused on his task.

Sighing, Eli leaned her elbows on the railing and rested her chin in the palms of her hands. Having no occupation was troublesome, highly troublesome... Because if she had nothing to do, she surely had no excuses to postpone her apologizes to Ace any longer. But the faulty girl wasn't ready to face him. No matter how many times she replayed the scene in her head, her guts just kept twisting each time she pictured his dark eyes on her.

Looking over her shoulder to find something to do, anything to help with, she saw that the other pirates were unfortunately in the same state of nothingness as her. Except for Sanji, who kept swirling around Nami and Robin, serving the two gorgeous women drinks and pretty delicacies. But Eli wasn't desperate enough to help the love-cook with that...

After a heavy sigh, Eli turned her head around to look at the crow's-nest.

As her eyes trailed up the mast, she felt anticipation raising slightly inside of her, along with the rhythm of her heartbeats. Ace had climbed it about an hour ago, and from her careful observation, he was still up there. Was he napping ? Sulking ? Eli had no idea.

_It's just an apology... nothing to freak out about_, she reassured herself.

Without an other thought, Eli inhaled deeply, plucked up her courage, marched over to the rope ladder, and valiantly grabbed the cordage.

However, as she got closer to the nest, expectancy shot up in her mind and the girl felt more and more feverish. Her insides trembling annoyingly, Eli was in such a state of nervousness that she could _swear _she felt stares scrutinizing her and the ascent of her personal Everest.

When her hand came in contact with the wood, Eli swallowed audibly, and to prevent a much wanted withdrawal, she grabbed the nest's brim with both her hands and promptly jumped inside, making a loud thud as her shoes heavily hit the wooden floor.

Somehow, Ace didn't seem surprised when he looked at Eli, foolishly standing next to him. Frowning at her, he uttered an annoyed sigh and looked away.

_Okay..._

Obviously, he wasn't going to make things easier for her. Eli closed her eyes, and breathed deeply while trying to ignore her wriggling guts. The words of apology flowing in her rapid mind, she snapped her eyelids open.

"I'm sorry !" she sputtered quite loudly, staring down at Ace.

Hearing the words coming out of her mouth, Eli couldn't help but notice that she had apologized a little bit too often to him recently, and somehow it made the apology lose consistency.

"And what for Eli ?" Ace shifted his stare back to her, piercing and cold. "For preferring dying than holding my hand ?" he said wryly.

Eli bit her bottom lip. The words were sharp, and as all the evidences were against her, undeniably true. And so, once again, she didn't know what to say. What she did she could not erase, and even if she used the reflex explanation as an excuse, it would hardly lessen the fault.

She would have rather jumped into the sea, at great risk of her own life, than held his hand.

Yet, Eli wanted to prove him wrong. For him, for their friendship, and for her.

Watching Ace, who was once more looking away, her eyes trailed down his arm resting on his knee, and gazed at his hand hanging carelessly. It was large, and slightly threatening... On impulse, she sat down next to him, and slid her delicate fingers in between his, tightening his hand in hers.

"See ?" she said almost nonchalantly.

Gazing at their hands locked in this sudden embrace, Eli had directed the words to herself more than to Ace. It wasn't even a question, the girl forced the words out in a motion to convince herself that it wasn't such a big deal, and more than that, Eli wanted to convince herself that it was the most natural thing in the world.

And maybe it was.

Far from threatening, quite the opposite in fact, Eli found that her hand in Ace's, her fingers intertwined with his, felt somewhat reassuring. His hand was very big compared to hers, his palm almost twice as large as hers, yet instead of feeling overpowered, it gave out a sensation of protection.

Feeling her previous nervousness quietly dissipating, Eli shifted her gaze from their hands to Ace's face in order to see his reaction. As she looked at him, the girl was surprised to see that he was looking upwards.

What was that ? Indifference ?

Offended, Eli found herself frowning at him. Yet, she kept the words of resentment inside. After all, she was here to apologize.

There was a moment of silence. A long moment, during which Eli stared at him, heavily, to make sure he was aware of it, but Ace was imperturbably looking upwards, making her frown furrow.

"How does it feel ?" Ace finally asked, the softness of his voice causing her frown to fade instantly. "Not scary ?"

_Scary ?_

No, Eli wasn't scared. Oddly, she felt much better than when she had been avoiding him. Odd indeed to feel at last pacified while holding the hand of the one person that was the cause of her anxiety.

Looking at him Eli wondered... maybe _he _was the scared one. Scared of losing her. At this possibility, she felt a little more stupid, and guilty.

Those past few days, she had been running away from him under the pretext of protecting their friendship. He had tried to talk to her and she ran away. But no friendship could be saved by separation, no friendship was even worth saving if one of them was scared of the other...

Eli shifted closer to him, and rested her head on his shoulder, seeking the gentle closeness they had lost even faster than it came.

"It feels good," she said in a soft whisper, as a warm sensation gently diffused inside of her.

It wasn't his abnormally high temperature, Eli was sure of it. It was something else, something deep, something tender yet overwhelming. His presence maybe, the memories of the good times spent with him probably, her affection for him surely, his gentle touch definitely...

It was all of it and even more.

"You're really an idiot," Ace quietly said.

The young man lightly rested his head against hers, his raven hair softly rustling as it brushed against hers. Eli closed her eyes, letting his warmth soothe her entirely.

"And you're a jerk..."

* * *

A crash of cymbals reaching their ears, the two drowsy pirates brusquely raised their heads at the same time, letting out two well synchronized pained cries when their heads knocked together.

Rubbing her forehead, Eli blinked her eyes groggily, her vision becoming clearer with every flutter. As she squinted at Ace yawning by her side, the girl concluded that she must have fallen asleep against him, and him against her.

When the young man unclasped his hand from hers to get up, her fingers felt weird and as she was absently looking at her hand, Eli could not understand the alien sensation lingering in her flesh. Yet, as she heard the cymbals crashing again, she ignored it and followed Ace to watch who was causing such a ruckus.

"Wow..." Eli breathed, her eyes widening in awe as they raced upon a ship too large for her field of vision to perceive its entirety. Even if she was on the Merry's crow's-nest, she was only level with its deck.

More than the ship's size, it was its flashiness that amazed the chronicler; a huge banana-shaped pole that seemed to be paired with its twin on the other side of the ship, a large monkey figure head holding cymbals, and palm trees along the side of the deck.

Without a word, Ace climbed down to join the rest of the crew, and on the spot, Eli followed him.

"So you guys are here to salvage ?" Usopp asked to the crew of the flashy ship. Trembling, the marksman was partly hidden behind the Merry's railing.

"Of course I'm here to salvage," a man, who actually looked much more like a monkey than human, proudly replied. "I'm a man who will salvage every single ship that sinks !"

Looking at three pulleys on the side of the Merry, as well as the three pipes diving into the ocean, Eli concluded that Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji were already down there taking care of the job.

It was quite troublesome that those salvagers came so soon. Yet, the Straw Hats were quite fortunate since the crew of the flashy ship didn't seem to notice the diving equipment and naïvely believed Nami's words of admiration. Stupidly, they were waving at the cunning pirates.

On the other side, Ace wasn't agreeing with his crewmates' deceptive approach. In his opinion, they were there to salvage the galleon first, and consequently that gave them its propriety.

"Oi ! Monkey !" he called out haughtily.

"Are you talking to me ?" the captain of the monkey crew asked. As Ace nodded with a sneer, he blushed brightly while making embarrassed motions with his hand. "Nah, you don't really mean it~"

Stunned for a second as his purposed insult didn't have the effect expected, the flame user snapped out of it with a frown. "That ship is ou-"

Naturally, Usopp and Nami jumping on the arrogant pirate surprised the monkey-man. He questioningly cocked an eyebrow watching the two youngsters holding and striking the third while forcing a smile on their faces.

"It's OUsome !" Usopp said trying hard to keep a straight face. "Your ship, it's awesome !"

The two scaredy cats sighed in relief seeing the monkey-man proudly beaming at them while he was taking a pose on the railing of his ship. Behind them, Eli chucked as she watched Ace frowning and grunting.

"And you've seen nothing yet !" Monkey-man smirked, turning around to look at his crew. "Barco hunter ! Forward !"

"Yes sir, captain !"

The monkey figurehead detached from the ship and started a decent into the sea thanks to a large a pulley. Apparently, this was extremely amazing in Usopp and Chopper's opinions since the two teenagers yelled words of admiration, their eyes locked on the monkey figurehead.

Once the 'Barco Hunter' had completed its immersion, the captain of the monkey crew took a large tube attached to it and started blowing an impossible amount of air inside. The purpose was apparently to pull the sunken ship out of the waters by filling it with air.

"Sir ! There is someone inside the ship !" one of the monkey crewmates informed in a panicking tone of voice.

At the moment he was informed that his ship-men were facing a threat, the captain dove in the water. There were very high chances that the said 'threat' was in fact the three pirates. Subsequently, the Straw Hats that were still aboard the Merry should have been scared for their crewmates's safety. However; they did not, for they were completely stunned at the sight of an humongous shadow swimming right under the Merry as well as the salvagers' ship. Speechless, they stared at the threatening shadow, their pale faces distorted in horror.

"Wh...What...is...that...?" Eli managed to say.

But none of them could reply as they were completely terrified as a giant turtle slowly emerged from the waters. It was as big as a small island...

"Ah... The guys in the water," Robin said calmly, "they were swallowed by that thing, right ?" Impassible, she was observing the turtle.

With loud munching sounds the turtle was chewing the remains of the galleon.

"Hmm, the pipes are going into its mouth. I guess I was right," Robin said monotonously as Usopp and Chopper looked away in distress, pretending to ignore her dreadful remark.

As Ace motioned to dash over to the turtle on his Striker to go to his crewmates' rescue, Eli hopped on. However, it seemed that it was too late as the colossus had already swallowed the galleon, and the people inside.

"Damn !"

Not losing hope, Ace got closer to the turtle, yet the two pirates didn't know what to do. Their options were very thin; the monster was so huge. Even for the flame user, it would be a tough opponent or it could easily escape below the sea, taking their crewmates with it.

Looking at the colossus, the chronicler tried to find a solution within her rushing mind, but her hurried train of thought was soon interrupted as someone grabbed the small raft from below, making it shake so violently that she almost fell overboard.

"Sanji !" she yelled while clutching the Striker's side as she saw the cook emerging from the waters. He was soon followed by Zoro, who was carrying Luffy.

It's only when the pirates got their crewmates safely back to the Merry that they noticed that the night has fallen suddenly... and during the day.

"What the hell ?" Peering at the sky, Eli quickly understood what was the cause; a large mass of clouds was hovering above them. It was so thick that it completely blocked the sunlight.

_That's odd..._ But after all, they were on Grand Line, and maybe even the clouds here were different.

Still gazing at the dark sky, the chronicler was surprised at the silence of her crewmates and even more surprised when she saw the look on their faces. They all bore the famous scared-Usopp expression; the bleached face, the gaping mouth, and the eyes so wide open that it looked like their eyeballs could pop out of their orbits. Even the usually impassive Zoro looked completely terrified. Of course, following their terror-stricken stares, Eli ended up in the same state.

Her mind was blank for a moment, as if her brain found it impossible to process what her eyes were seeing. After a few seconds, it came back, slowly, cautiously analyzing the informations; they were three, three humans' shadows. They had little wings on their backs, and each of them carried a spear. All of this was completely inconceivable, even the fact that it looked like they were walking on the ocean...

_Oh, god..._

But how could they be so big, so huge... so extremely ginormous ? They were bigger than giants, bigger than any living thing Eli had ever seen. They were as big as mountains...

When the mountain-sized human-like thingies started moving, and thanks to their instincts of self-preservation, the pirates finally snapped out of their petrified states.

"MONSTERS !" they all screamed in unison.

Like a shot, the Straw Hats dashed to the Merry's oars on the spot and rowed away. Completely frenzied, their minds were still imprinted with the image of the most impossible, and terrifying things they had ever seen...

to be continued

* * *

**Betaed by Fox MC.**

_Eli holding Ace's hand... Nice picture right ?_

_Can you feel the love now ?  
Eli surely feels it, yet she is still very blind...  
I'm sure you are wondering for how long she is going to be oblivious of her own feelings... well, I obviously can't tell you that !  
You will have to wait, and wait a little bit more. All the while I hope you will enjoy the waiting :)_

_I am going to try writing a 'Twig' chapter for the last two chapters of 'Freckles'. It should be interesting, right ?  
If I manage to write it, it should be my next update.  
The problem there is that I haven't been able to write something new for a while. All those chapters were written before my vacations...  
But now I have a beta again, and so I should be able to focus on writing._

_In any case, see you soon :)_


	51. Sinister Encounter

**Chapter 51  
Sinister Encounter**

_Wings... and spears..._

The nib of her pen rapidly scratching the paper, Eli was in the crow's-nest trying the best she could to sketch the dreadful encounter. Yet, her memories were fuzzy and so unbelievable that the chronicler started to believe that it was only a dream, or more accurately, a terrible nightmare.

After their frenzied departure, one day had passed and the pirates were steering a course toward an island called Jaya. Even though the Log Pose was still pointing up at a sky island, this was made possible thanks to Robin, who managed to steal an Eternal Pose from the monkey ship.

Despite their terrible encounter with the giant giants, the Straw Hats did not gave up on the idea of going to the sky island. Unfortunately, the three temporary salvagers did not manage to bring anything interesting from the remains of the sunken galleon, apart from an octopus, which soon ended up in delicious takoyakis, and a map of a sky island. However, rather than 'map', 'surreal drawing' would better fit the description of the old piece of parchment. Overall, to help them with their dreamlike quest, the adventurous crew only had said map, and Nami's Log Pose, which was imperturbably pointing up. The plan to achieve their goal was to get information on Jaya before the Log Pose lost its record of the sky island, and then head straight upward.

Yawning and stretching, Eli let herself fall on her back lazily. Gazing at the azure sky, she nestled her hands behind her head, the flaps of the pirates' jolly roger filling her ears. Rolling her head to the side, she looked at her log book and let out a deep sigh before looking at the sky again. The chronicler's mind was restless, therefore she had a hard time focusing on her task. The impossible and highly exciting events of the previous day had kept her awake part of the night. That, and something else that was bothering her to no end. Ever since their reconciliation, Eli felt that Ace was avoiding her.

For example, at that very moment, the chronicler had been up in the crew's-nest for more than three hours and the young man never came to join her like he usually did. His absence wouldn't be so troublesome if the two friends hadn't just made up, and that made Eli wonder if Ace had really forgiven her.

After their reconciliation, the girl thought that their quarrel was definitively settled. She thought that no matter how stupid it was for her to let herself fall in the sea, it had finally made him understand that the game he was playing with her was very painful for her. Maybe Ace did understand, and gave up on trying to seduce her, but in no way did she want him to grow distant from her...

Her mind in deep turmoil, Eli stood up stealthily and took a peek downstairs to see what the flame user was doing.

Sitting next to the pile of junk recovered from the galleon, Ace was having a discussion with Chopper and Usopp. From the crow's-nest, Eli could only see his hat, but from his recognizable laughter, she knew that he was having fun.

"Elisabeth~" Sanji called out from the lounge room's threshold. "Do you want some takoyakis ?"

"Yes, please !"

Shifting her gaze back to Ace, she saw that the young man was now looking at her and surprisingly, as their eyes met, Eli found herself jerking away from the crow's-nest side on the spot, as if she had been caught doing something bad. Blinking rapidly, she was puzzled at her awkward reaction, her fast heartbeat, as well as her hot face.

_Damn ! _Turning around, Eli pressed her forehead on the mast, extremely annoyed at her capricious body. With deep and regular breaths, she managed to simmer down, her cheeks' bright redness slowly fading out. However, if she happened to let her mind picture his dark eyes on her, her heart seemed like it was suddenly squeezed by an unknown force.

Hearing someone climbing the rope ladder, Eli briskly looked over her shoulder and found herself being disappointed to see Sanji, even though he was carrying a plate of takoyakis. Obviously, she had hoped that Ace had finally came to join her.

After thanking the cook, she ate one of the takoyaki and praised him for his wonderful skills, despite her mind wandering away. If Ace had been there, he would have probably stolen one of the delicacies. She could picture the flame user and Sanji fighting over the insignificant matter. Smirking, Ace would taunt the angry blond and she would laugh watching their silly quarrel...

But Ace wasn't here.

"Are you alright, Elisabeth ?" Sanji asked, watching Eli eating the takoyaki half-heartedly.

She nodded while trying not to burn her tongue, as the inside on the ball was extremely hot.

"Did that shitty cowboy do something to you ?" he asked with a frown, apparently not convinced by her reply.

To the mention of Ace, Eli felt her heart squeezing again, and could no longer find the strength to hide her true feelings. Letting her arms fall loosely to her sides, she turned her head to avert his inquisitory gaze, her eyes vagabonding within the blue horizon.

"It's just that..." she cut herself short and sighed while trying to find the words to phrase her feelings. The words did not come, or more accurately, in spite of the many words flowing in her mind, the girl couldn't manage to mouth the source of her discomfort.

It was very simple though; she missed him. Yet, she was too stubborn to admit that out loud, and now she was waiting for him, while trying to act as detached as possible, no matter how much his absence pained her.

Sanji took her chin and turned her head to face his. Worried, he looked deeply into her eyes, her green eyes which were filled with frustration of not being able to understand why it hurt so much. As she looked at her friend, even if she couldn't say the words, Eli longed for his guidance.

"Don't worry, Elisabeth," he said. Letting go of her chin, he rested his hand on her shoulder. "I'll take care of it."

"Take care of what ?" Eli asked. Tilting her head to the side, she wondered what the young man had meant by that.

To that, Sanji's eyes instantly morphed into hearts. He clasped his hands together and started wriggling in front of her.

"Elisabeth is so cute~"

Eli's usual smile came back to her face as she watched the love-cook performing his stupid dance, her anxiousness slowly vanishing with every chuckle that escaped her mouth. However, hearing Luffy ordering more food, Sanji's flirty fit came to a stop. Rolling his eye, the young man huffed, annoyed, like always, at his young captain's bottomless hunger. After making sure he could leave her alone, he gave Eli her plate of takoyakis and climbed down the crow's-nest huffing and grunting at Luffy.

Eli sat down on the wooden floor and slowly ate the rest of the octopus delicacies while looking absently in the distance.

No, Ace did nothing, that was a fact. He had acted courteously toward her, and didn't seem to hold any grudge against her as he bore his usual friendly smile on his face whenever he looked at her. But why did she feel like he was avoiding her then ? He wasn't coming up into the crow's-nest, nothing to get all worried about. Then why was she ? And why couldn't she find the courage to confront him if she thought that something was wrong...?

With a sigh, Eli rolled her eyes at her own incoherent and stupid train of thought. Because it was surely stupid, and it was probably just her guilt that made her imagine things. Useless guilt, since she had already excused herself to her friend.

Without another of those perturbing thoughts, Eli got up to watch seagulls flying near the crow's-nest. The weather was nice and smooth, a gentle spring breeze caressing her face, the girl slowly let her mind drift away. The seagull seemed to be carried by the wind. It made Eli wonder how it would feel to fly so freely in the open sky. It was probably even better than running, freedom from being bound to the ground must feel better than anything...

Her mind flying along with the seagulls, a gasp escaped Eli's mouth as she saw the birds suddenly falling on the deck.

"What.. what happened !" she asked hurriedly, looking down at the deck where Chopper was examining the lifeless birds.

"They were shot !" the small doctor said, looking at three bullets he had extracted from their corpses.

Eli dashed down to his side and looked at the bullets with wide eyes. Quickly, the girl and Chopper calculated that from the angle of the bullets they had probably been fired from the direction in front of the ship, therefore there were high chances that the shooter was located on Jaya. However, looking at the two investigators, Nami laughed, and stated that it was impossible to shoot from an island that was not yet to be seen.

"And if it was true," Usopp began with an amused tone, "with what kind of eyesight, using what king of gun, and what kind of technique does that shooter have ?"

"But, they were shot !" Eli claimed, holding out a bullet between her fingers for him to see.

"They probably got hit before and just happened to fall down right now," the marksman said.

Usopp was a sharpshooter, Eli would never deny it, but she did not dream this; the seagulls were flying for a long time, and they seemed perfectly fine until they fell suddenly, all three at the same time.

"I tell you they were shot !" Eli said loudly with a frown. "And I'll find who did this !"

All the while, Eli couldn't help but notice Ace silently watching the argument, and found it annoying that he did not pick a side, _her_ side. With a scornful huff, the stubborn girl walked away, claiming once more that she would find the one who did it, and prove them wrong.

* * *

After an hour, the Merry was approaching Jaya. From afar, it looked like a nice vacation resort, and made the pirates forget for a moment the main reason why they had to stop over at the island. However, as they got closer, the cheerful look on their faces quickly morphed into anxiety seeing that Jaya was far from a vacation resort. Several pirate ships were docked at its port, the sounds of violent fights could be heard even from afar, and the deteriorated state of the streets and buildings were a solid proof of that.

Jaya was the gathering place of people who feared neither god nor man.

Yet, that wasn't enough to keep Eli safely on the Merry. The investigator wanted to find who had shot the seagulls and would not get held back by a few pirates' street fights.

"Well, off I go !" she shouted as soon as the dock was close enough for her to jump off the ship.

Sanji was the first one to try to make her change her mind, soon joined by a very frightened Usopp and Chopper. With a mischievous wink, Eli jumped off anyway and without a word, started walking toward the city.

"WAIT !"

Looking over her shoulder, Eli saw Sanji jumping off the ship as well.

"Sanji ?" Eli spun on her heels and looked at him with wide eyes.

The girl did not care for the cooks chivalrous claims as she was solely focused on Ace. He was there, on the Merry. Sanji was by her side to escort her through the dangerous city, and Ace was standing still on the ship while watching her with an unreadable look on his face.

_What the hell ?_

"Do you want me to come ?" Ace asked friendlily.

Since when did he need her permission ? Almost as soon as they met up again months ago, Ace had always followed Eli, even if she didn't want him to. Despite how loud and clear she claimed that she would be better off alone, he followed her anyway. Little by little she had gotten used to it, little by little she came to enjoy those moments, her alone with him. Yet, now he was taking it all away. Now that she had came to a point where Eli couldn't do without him anymore, Ace chose to keep his distances from her...

What a cruel game he was playing.

Blasting a hateful glare at him, Eli grabbed Sanji's wrist and briskly pulled him into the city. Focusing on her investigation, the girl managed to erase Ace from her mind, transposing her anger against him toward the sharpshooter. Yet, the streets were bustling with people, and she only had a feeble clue; the person she was looking for would obviously carry an amazing gun as he was able to shoot from such a long distance. Eli didn't know where to look.

Walking through the disreputable streets, Sanji bore an heavy glare on his face to prevent anyone to approach the girl. On the other side, Eli was curiously looking at everyone, making them acting rather belligerently toward her. This caused the love-cook to kick them away on the spot.

After half an hour of search, Eli started to lose patience, but she wouldn't give up. After all, her pride was at stake.

It was then that the two pirates caught sight of Robin. The woman was casually doing some shopping. As soon as Sanji saw the beautiful archaeologist, he ran over to her to offer her his chivalrous protection. With a deep, annoyed sigh, Eli rolled her head upward, and at that moment, she finally found who she was looking for; a man with a dark cape was sitting on a roof, and in his hands a rifle, longer than any rifle she had ever seen.

As he jumped down on the street and started walking away, Eli followed him without notifying Sanji. Speeding up her pace, she soon came to a stop in front of him.

"Oi." Eli eyed the rifle closely, before shifting the stare to his owner. "Are you the one who killed the three seagulls that were flying above our ship two hours ago ?"

The man was silent. For a long moment, he stared at Eli with an impassible look on his face. Peering at him, Eli wondered if the glasses he was wearing gave him the incredible eyesight needed to shoot birds from such a long distance; the left side appeared to be normal but the right lens was a cross-hair.

"Fate killed those birds," the man finally said monotonously, his half-answer making Eli frown at him.

Without adding anything more, the shooter started walking away, avoiding his interrogator. Eli gaped in disbelief at his odd behavior while watching him walking away among the crowd, but soon snapped out of her daze and sped up to walk by his side.

"Oi !" she called out angrily. "Are you the one who pulled the trigger then ?"

"I have no obligation to answer that, do I ?" the man said, his face still showing no signs of emotion.

To that, Eli felt anger burning up inside her.

"What the hell !" she yelled. "It's a simple question, dumbass !"

"Auger !" a loud voice called from behind Eli, making her and the shooter stop.

Spinning on her heels, Eli's jaws dropped as she faced a man almost twice as tall as her, and he wasn't only tall, he was also huge. The imposing man wore a black bandana on his long, curly black hair, and had a small scruffy black beard around his jawline. From the instant she faced, him Eli felt something evil, something dark emanating from him.

"What's wrong lass ?" he asked with a sneer before laughing loudly.

With a quick breath, the pirate girl got a grip of herself and turned around to face the sharpshooter with an heavy frown on her face.

"I'm asking your friend a simple question," Eli said harshly and pointed a finger belligerently at the shooter as her patience had long reached its limits. "Did you, or did you not pull the trigger ?"

"You've got guts lass..." the huge man said, grabbing Eli's thin arm. "But you should leave."

At the moment he touched her, Eli felt weird, she felt... slow. Not only her, the whole world around her was slower. As a girl with her abilities, such an alien sensation was extremely destabilizing. She kept trying to accelerate her mind and analyze the situation but it seemed that, as impossible as it sounded, she had simply lost her ability.

"ELI !"

At the sound of her name, she turned her head slowly to the side and saw Ace marching over to her. The young man looked at the two men surrounding her friend, his face darkening seeing the huge one holding her.

"Ace I-"

"Release her," Ace ordered sharply. Staring at the huge man, his dark eyes were menacing.

"TSHUHAHAHA" The man laughed loudly, and pushed Eli toward Ace. "You should be careful, nosy one," he sneered, his missing teeth giving him an even more evil aura.

"Did they do something to you ?" Ace asked, his eyes never leaving the huge man.

"No..." she said quietly, feeling the world gradually speeding up again.

"Let's go."

His hand on her shoulder in a protective manner, Ace escorted Eli back to the Merry under the loud laughs of the sinister man, and somehow, in spite of the dangerous situation she had just faced, a soft smile made its way to her lips as he was the one who came to her rescue...

to be continued

* * *

**Betaed by Fox MC.**

_Many things in this chapter and I'll be waiting for your reviews to know what you thought of it all :)  
By the way, did you read the latest Twig chapter ? This is how Ace changes the rules._

_Thank you for your patience, I know that you are starting to hate me.  
Yet, I hope that you still enjoy the story._

_See you very soon~_


	52. Insectophobia : A Chronicler In Trouble

**Chapter 52  
Insectophobia : A Chronicler In Trouble**

Watching the city of Mock Town slowly disappearing from her sight, a frustrated sigh escaped Eli's lips. Apparently, the pirates were abnormally unlucky to set foot on this part of Jaya first. During the chronicler's search for the sharpshooter, Luffy, Zoro and Nami went into town to gather information on the sky islands and were hostilely received by a crew of pirates who claimed themselves as 'Pirates of the New Age'. A new age where pirates who dreamed were no more... Thus the three Straw Hats didn't manage to get any clues about their dreamlike quest and returned to their ship slightly piqued.

Fortunately, during her shopping, the resourceful Robin obtained a map of Jaya as well as the location of a house inhabited by an interesting man. The man was exiled from Mock Town for his dreams; his name was Montblanc Cricket. Hopefully, he might be able to give them the information they needed. Consequently, right after getting back to the Merry, the adventurous pirates set course to the east coast of Jaya in order to meet with him.

After two hours, the little ship was getting closer to the mark on the map, and soon the pirates found themselves gawking in awe at the sight of an amazing and colorful house, or more accurately, a castle. A small castle, but a castle nevertheless. Immaculate white walls, large windows ornamented with flashy borders, and multiple round and colorful roofs; it looked as if it was just taken from a fairytale. However, as the pirates set foot on the island, they quickly found out that it was only a large board and that the real house was rather small and simple.

It seemed that, once again, the Straw Hats' adventure was dependent on another eccentric individual.

Looking around the house in search for its weird occupant like the rest of the pirates, Eli caught sight of a little book resting on a stump. Curious, the chronicler took it and observed its cover. It was apparently a children's book, slightly worn-out but sill in a good condition.

"_King of Liars, Norland_," the chronicler read the tile of the book out loud.

"Norland... That brings back old memories," Sanji said. Lighting a cigarette, he took a step toward Eli and looked at the little book. "I used to read it a lot."

Nami took the children's book from Eli's hands to take a look at it as well.

"You know it ?" the navigator asked as she was looking at the inner cover. "It says here that it was published in North Blue."

"Ah, yes." A broad smile on his face, Sanji nodded. "I was born in North Blue, didn't I tell you ?"

"News to me," Usopp said.

"For me too," Eli said quietly.

Eli had no idea that Sanji was born in North Blue, even though she had spent half a year working with him at the Baratie, and then months as a fellow crewmate. Turning her head around, the chronicler looked a each of the pirates. In the end, the whole crew seemed to have secrets, and she no exception. Yet, it wasn't like she _wanted_ to conceal her past, the topic just never came up. Except when...

Watching Ace, Eli bit her bottom lip, feeling remorse raising inside of her. The young man had revealed the secret of his origins, and after that tender night, she had thought she should have done the same. But her memories were too painful and sharing them with her friend would have only brought sadness to his eyes.

"What ?" Ace asked, apparently very aware of the girl's gaze on him.

"Nothing," Eli said. Embarrassed, she shifted her eyes toward the children's book. "Let's read it, shall we ?"

Nami cleared her throat and began the reading.

"_This is a very old story, a story that happened over 400 years ago..._

_In a country somewhere in the northern seas, there was a man named Montblanc Norland. Norland was an explorer and his stories were always grand adventures that sounded like lies. But the people of the village could never tell if they were true or not._

_One day, Norland came back from an expedition and reported to the king. "I saw a mountain of gold on an island across the great seas." To see for himself, the brave king took 2, 000 warriors and crossed the great seas in his ship. They braved powerful storms and huge sea monsters._

_Finally, after going through many hardships, the king, Norland, and 100 soldiers landed on the island. But what they found there was nothing but jungle._

_Norland was sentenced to death for his lies. These were his last words. "I know ! The mountain of gold sunk into the ocean !" But nobody believed Norland anymore, and he never stopped lying until he was dead._"

"And the liar was never able to become a great warrior of the sea." Nami said sadly. "The end."

"WHAT !" Usopp yelled bewilderingly. Frowning, he pointed an accusative finger in the direction of the redhead. "You just added that !"

Hearing a loud splashing sound, the pirates heads snapped in the direction of a man emerging from the waters, precisely where Luffy was standing less than a minute ago.

The man was shirtless and extremely muscular, he had short blond hair and a large chestnut on his head that resembled the one on Norland's picture. The pirates identified him as Montblanc Cricket on the spot.

An angry expression on his face, he took a martial fighting stance and Ace stood instantly in front of him as his opponent while Sanji dove into the sea to rescue Luffy.

Straightaway, Montblanc shot his leg toward Ace's face who barely evaded it, side-stepping at the last moment. The man whipped his leg to the side swiftly, and the flame user evaded once more crouching on the spot before launching a powerful hook, sending the chestnut-man flying a few meters away. Focused, Montblanc regained his balance in the air and executed several backward somersaults before taking his fighting stance again.

All the while, Eli watched the fight eagerly. Montblanc's movements were swift and graceful yet powerful enough to knock the flame user away as he managed to place a perfect kick in his ribs, and that was quite an achievement. It seemed that their strength were equal, making the girl wonder if the flame user would have to use his devil abilities to take down his opponent.

However, the fascinating duel was soon interrupted as Montblanc lost consciousness with a loud pained cry although Ace did not lay a hit on him.

* * *

As Chopper was examining Montblanc, Eli followed Ace and Zoro outside to give the little doctor some space. Without a word, the two young men walked away from the house, and sat down, apparently discussing the man's fighting style.

Narrowing her eyes, Eli watched Ace's back intensely, a deadly stare apparently extremely inefficient, making the girl grunt at her obvious lack of psychic powers. Once more, he was ignoring her, preferring the company of another crewmate to hers, and once more, she found herself rather annoyed by his mysterious attitude. Yet, this little game of his she could play too, and so Eli took her book in her hands, pretended to read, and started to walk casually in his direction. Without giving him a look, ignoring him the way he did, just to make him feel the way she did.

However, as she got closer to him, her heartbeats increased significantly, thus making her 'casual' walk lose its casualness. Focusing hardly on her every step, trying her best to act as naturally as possible, the girl didn't see a root standing in her path. As her foot got caught in the treacherous obstacle, Eli's mind went blank for a second while she fell flat on the floor oh so ungracefully, right next to the young man.

Stretched out at full length on the ground, Eli felt her cheeks burning with embarrassment against the pages of her log book.

"Are you okay ?" Ace asked from behind her, making Eli wish she could just disappear from the surface of the planet, forever.

Briskly she stood up, mumbling words that even she could not understand, and marched over to the edge of the forest under the two young men's puzzled stares.

_Idiot, idiot, idiot !_ Clenching her eyelids closed, Eli pressed her forehead on a tree's trunk.

How stupid she must have looked. How stupid she was. The girl _now_ knew that she had absolutely no talent in those little mind games. Yet, it was too late, she had make a fool of herself, right before his very eyes and nothing will ever erase the shame she had felt.

"Idiot..." Eli whined, clutching her precious book against her chest where her heart throbbed painfully.

It was all his fault. This stupid young man and his stupid, _stupid_, game. Why couldn't things return to the way they were before ? And why could he talk to her like he did before ?

Hearing leaves rustling behind her, Eli spun on her heels and as the rustle became louder, she felt expectation shooting inside of her. He was here, coming to her, at last, and Eli had no idea how to react.

Playing hundreds of scenario at the speed of light in her mind, the girl opted for a casual introduction, 'Hey'. It should work just fine. Then, he would ask her once more if she was alright and at that moment she would have to be extremely focused to prevent any blush from appearing on her face. She would reassure him, maybe with a note of humor, and then move onto a more comfortable subject; Montblanc's fight just seemed like the perfect topic.

Seeing a bush fluttering in front of her, Eli swallowed hard, took a deep breath, and focused on the muscles of her face, forcing a surprised, yet welcoming expression.

In the end, Eli did not have to force the surprise at all. Zoro popping out of the bush instead of Ace was such a shock that the girl found her jaw falling down as she watched the swordsman dusting the leaves off his clothes.

"Zo... Zoro...?" she stammered, gaping stupidly at the young man. "What... what are you doing here ?"

The swordsman cocked an eyebrow, watching Eli questioningly. After a few seconds of an intense staring contest, he sighed deeply. His arms folded, the young man looked rather annoyed.

"Ace sent me," he said, turning his head over his shoulder in the direction of the clearing.

"ACE !" Eli's eyes widened in shock, and soon a frown darkened her face. "What the hell ?"

"He said that you were pretty skilled at getting yourself into trouble..." Zoro shrugged, and the girl's eyes filled with anger.

_Pretty skilled at getting myself into trouble... _Eli's rage burnt up tremendously each time she replayed the words in her mind. _How dare he...?_

Huffing, the furious girl swirled and marched deeper into the forest, ignoring Zoro's presence as well as his warnings. The forest was getting darker and she stubbornly kept on with her walk. Zoro was calling out her name, but she just grunted back scornfully. She ignored the multiple human skeletons lying on her path and marched forward while picturing herself hitting Ace with all of her might and speed. In the end, the only thing that managed to slow her frantic walk down was the sight of hundreds of giant mantises' surrounding her and the swordsman.

"Damn it, Eli !" Zoro yelled when the entomophobe jumped on his back, feeling goosebumps popping all over her skin.

"Kill them !" she screamed frantically.

However, the frenzied fear that struck her as she was witnessing all of her worst nightmares coming true caused the girl to hold onto the swordsman so tightly that he could hardly make any movements.

The mantises got closer and Zoro grunted. The young man unsheathed his swords and took an approximate fighting stance. As the giant predators got close enough to the pair, Eli's terrified shrieks became very unbearable and while he was yelling back at her, the swordsman unleashed his attacks on the belligerent insects.

"Left, left !" Eli yelled. "ABOVE !" Her eyes moving in all the direction, she gave the swordsman the position of the assailants. "They're all around ! Do a swirling thiiiing !"

The swordsman was efficient and very powerful despite Eli's tight grip on his back. He managed to take at least two dozens of mantises down in a few minutes. But the flow of insects seemed endless and Eli digging her nails deep into his skin was apparently not very helpful. Extremely outnumbered, the two pirates ended up separated, a group of the dreadful army tearing the girl off her bodyguard.

"ZOROOOOOO !" she yelled as the group took her into a cave swarming with mantises.

The cave was deep and dark, and the sounds of the legions of insect reverberating from all over was torturous to her ears. Eli looked with disgust at some paths giving out to rooms filled with hundreds of squishing cocoons. She had to do something, anything in spite of the phobia incapacitating her mind. Struggling and yelling, the entomophobe managed to knock some of her kidnappers down, but before she could unleash her fury against the rest, the shrewd insects tied her up with vines and silently resumed with their walk through the frightening cave filled with her shrilling wails.

It was only when they arrived in a large, open, and thankfully, empty space, that the disgusting insects threw the hysterical girl roughly on the ground before walking out of the room backward, closing the entrance behind them with a large boulder.

Sitting up, Eli rapidly observed her surroundings. It seemed like she was in the end of the cave. Faint rays of light were piercing through an opening in the high ceiling. A route of escape apparently, yet it was twenty meters above the ground at least, and it seemed that there was no path to reach it.

At any rate, she was alone and so managed to calm her frantic mind.

"_You are not alone, my dear,_" said a deep a feminine voice.

Surprised, Eli stood up and looked around in search for the woman, but saw nothing.

"Where are-"

"_Look higher small one..._"

Eli narrowed her eyes, trailing up the back of the cave. A glimmer, and then a large shadow slowly detaching from the muddy wall. The girl felt blood rushing out of her face seeing a gigantic mantis towering a dozen of meters above her.

"_There_", the huge mantis said playfully, and at this instant, Eli noticed that is was speaking directly into her mind. "_You are a cute one, aren't you ?_"

Hearing the colossus' mandible munching closer, Eli took a few trembling steps back and gasped as her back came in contact with the wall.

"_It is natural to be afraid, my dear." _The giant mantis got close enough for Eli to see her own, dread-stricken reflexion in her big, globulous eyes. _"It is your wedding day after all._"

_Oh god..._ As the mantis reached out to caress Eli's cheek with the tip of her spiked and sharp foreleg, the girl's mind went blank, her eyes rolling to the back of her head.

Eli hit the ground with a muffled thud, the cruel laughs of the monstrous mantis resonating through her blurry mind.

to be continued

* * *

**Betaed by Fox MC.**

_I'm so tired that I can't seem to find the words to write this note...  
What to say, what to say...?_

_Well, I loooove writting nervous Eli.  
She's a bit like me: impetuous, headless, intense, etc..._

_Oh and yeah, I gave Zoro and our favorite chronicler a little adventure.  
Even if I don't particularly like the grumpy swordsman, I like seeing him and Eli together :)_

_And mantises... Aren't they just creepy ? *shivers*_

_Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please tell me what you thought of it, and see you soon~_


	53. Insectophobia : A Bride's Payback

**Chapter 53  
Insectophobia : A Bride's Payback**

"Eli... Eli..."

Slowly opening her heavy eyes, a feeble smile made it's way to the girl's lips seeing her dear friend's face hovering above her, and gradually, the images of her terrible nightmare vanished from her mind. Lifting her hands to his face, she caressed his mandibles tenderly.

_Wait..._

With a loud gasp, Eli scrambled away from a mantis, who was munching frantically as he watched the disgusted girl vigorously wiping her hands against her shorts. Like the first group of predatory insects that Eli and Zoro had met, he had the size of a human and his skin was brownish. As her back came into contact with a wall, the mantis tilted his head to the side questioningly before performing a repugnant 180° to look at the giant, green mantis, observing the scene calmly.

"_I am glad to see that you are finally awake, my dear_," the mantis said kindly. "_Just in time for your wedding._"

_Right... _Eli took the vines tied around her wrists in her mouth and began chewing energetically while ignoring the mantis and her crazy talk. After all, how could a human girl marry an insect ?

"_Crazy talk ?_" the mantis sneered. "_It is called evolution._"

"Listen... Manticia-"

"_Manticia ?_"

"Yeah, I just thought of calling you that," Eli replied. "Anyway, in case you didn't notice, I'm human and you are some freakish insect. There's no way I'd marry one of your kind !"

As she had clearly made her point, without adding anything more, Eli resumed her 'meal'. Using her speed to accelerate the process, the girl soon managed to free her wrists and was now looking at her legs, which were tied as well.

"_You should not act so superior, future daughter of mine,_" Manticia said, the dangerous tone of her voice causing a wave of goosebumps to appear on Eli's skin. "_You shall marry this son of mine, copulate, and give me a legion of grandchildren._"

As the mantis kept on with how these grandchildren of hers would be the next step of evolution of her tribe and blah and blah, Eli was stunned, the word 'copulate' echoing in her mind illustrated with images so disgusting that she almost fainted again. Was it even biologically possible ? Rapidly shaking her head in motion to clear her mind, Eli wondered what was taking Zoro so long.

"_This friend of yours won't come to your rescue, my dear,_" Manticia said. "_He is facing the mightiest warriors of my precious army and no one ever survived to their blades._" Munching rapidly, she pushed the brown mantis in Eli's direction, and leaned back on her muddy throne. "_Now, meet with your fiancé._"

Looking at her 'fiancé' slowly advancing in her direction, Eli couldn't help the disgusted whines that flowed from her mouth, distorted in horror. However, as the mantis got closer, she noticed that he was trembling. Looking shyly at her, it seemed that the few meters separating him from his bride were hard to cross.

"_This son of mine is scared of you, my dear_," Manticia explained, making Eli's eyes widening in surprise. "_He fears for his head._"

When Manticia explained how the female was supposed to devour his mate's head during the fertilization in order to enhance the delivery of the semen, the two intendeds found themselves shaken by tremors of dread. Paralyzed in fear, they gawked while listening to the very detailed description of the act that Manticia seemed to take great pleasure in relating.

Once she was done, she pushed the male mantis once more while munching softly.

Stiff, Eli slowly turned her head around and looked at her fiancé, her dreadful fiancé, and as she watched her terrorized reflection in his globular eyes, the pirate girl couldn't help but despising her stupid phobia and the ones who were the cause of it even more... And so, the painful memory of how she came to fear insects came back in her anxious mind...

_After an hour long walk up a hill towering over her village, a younger Eli was gazing at a wooden cabin. A swift and cold breeze brushing her skin, the girl rubbed her arms vigorously. _

"_You say it's the last trial ?" she asked, turning her head over her shoulder to look at the group of boys that had brought her here._

"_Yep," the older one said, barely concealing a sneer. "After that, you will be an official member of our league."_

_Eli heard the other boys snickering, yet she didn't care. All of the other ordeals she had passed, and this one won't be any different, and then they would have to acknowledge her, whether they wanted it or not. Besides, what could be so difficult in spending a night in a cabin ? Admittedly, she would be alone, but it was just one night, and she was twelve years old. Two more years and she would be officially recognized as an adult. Yet, a woman had not much more rights than a girl in her country, and that was the very reason for her to pass those stupid trials and finally be recognized and respected._

_With a deep intake of air, Eli marched over to the cabin, opened the door and entered the small room briskly. As soon as she was in, the girl snapped her head around hearing someone locking the door behind her. Why were they so hurried was still unknown and slightly frightening, yet she couldn't let herself being discouraged so soon._

_Sitting down on the wooden floor, Eli tried to calm her rapid heartbeats by breathing as slowly as she could. However, her relaxation exercises were soon interrupted as she heard the boys hitting the cabin from the outside. Was that what the trial was about ? Were they going to hit on the cabin all night long ?_

Idiots...

_The hammering soon came to a stop, replaced by a low and droning sound filling the cabin gradually. Narrowing her eyes in order to distinguish something in the darkness, Eli saw shadows moving all around her, and soon she understood the full extent of the dangerous situation she was in._

_Surrounded by hundreds of wasps, locked in the cabin for the night; that was what the final trial was all about._

_Rushing over to the door, Eli screamed for some help. She screamed her lungs out, but nobody ever came._

_In the end the girl never knew if the boys had left or not. The sound of the wasps filling her ears, she never got an answer to her pleading calls and soon found herself unable to yell anymore as the wasps covered her face._

_She spent the night alone, sitting in a corner of the cabin. Her face, arms, and knees drawn to her chest, her hands covering her ears, while the wasps swarmed all over her skin, under her clothes, deep inside of her mind..._

Shaking like a leaf, Eli clenched her eyelids to prevent any tears from falling from her eyes as the excruciating memory flickered in her mind. This stupid boys... they were all dead now, yet her fear remained.

"_Cry, yell, and fear all you want my dear,_" Manticia said with disdain. "_By your fear I shall control you, pitiful one._"

At those words, Eli snapped out of her daze. Jerking her head around, she glared at the giant mantis. Hatred burning in her green eyes, she felt her strengths coming back to her body. How dared she ? Playing with her weakness... This was the last straw for the entomophobe, she had feared for too long and now it was time for the payback.

"If you were a wasp I'd be dead by now !" Eli yelled scornfully, as if it was praiseworthy. "Next to that, you just look like PUPPIES !"

For once, Manticia didn't seem to find anything to say. The girl just seemed so proud at that instant, even though she had just admitted she was afraid of smaller and almost harmless creatures. Apparently, her self-confidence was somewhat impressive to the colossus' eyes.

Yes, mantises were nothing. They just looked like very long, ugly, greenish humans... in a way, and as a burning sensation washed over her, Eli decided that she would fight against both the mantises and her fear. Performing a backflip, she used the sharp foreleg of her fiancé to cut the ties incapacitating her legs.

"Now..." Staring at Manticia, Eli placed a swift and powerful kick in the male mantis' head, sending the poor trembling insect deeply into the wall. "Prepare to suffer, mantis queen !"

With an angry shriek, the giant mantis swung her scythe-like foreleg in Eli's direction. Dashing to the side, she evaded the blow easily and launched her fist like a shot on the back of the spiky limb, letting out a pained cry as her hand came in contact with the hard skin. It was as if the mantis wore a full armor.

Evading the mantis' rapid attacks, Eli tried to think of a solution to her dilemma. She would obviously need a weapon, and it was only then that she noticed a short sword stuck into the ground next to Manticia. How she did not manage to see it before was a complete mystery. A large ray of light pointing directly the shiny weapon; it was quite impossible to miss.

Eli dashed over to the providential weapon, and as she brandished the short sword, the girl felt a force flowing from her arm and throughout her whole body. She didn't have time to wallow the marvelous sensation, however, as Manticia kept swinging her sharp forelegs relentlessly.

"WAIT !" Eli yelled, stunning the belligerent mantis on the spot. "What's that shinny thing ?" she asked pointing the colossus' back.

"_Oh that..._" Manticia began before turning her head around completely to look at Eli. "_It is a weak point of mine._"

There was a silence.

Eli was looking at Manticia and Manticia back at Eli. Immobile and silent, the two women exchanged glances. Diving deeply into each others' eyes, the silence was so complete that the pirate girl could hear the soft flutters of her eyelids.

"_I do not think I should have said that._" Manticia slowly turned her body around, yet her head didn't move; the awesome display of suppleness making Eli groan in disgust. "_I think you will have to die now, my dear._"

Now that she had a weapon and a target, Eli only had to reach it without being beheaded by the angry colossus. Clutching her hand on the handle of the short sword, the fast girl ran along the wall, jumped on the mantis' large croup, and dashed in the direction of her back.

However, as she had almost reached her goal, Manticia shook her body so violently that Eli lost her balance. Quick as the lightning, she grabbed a joint of the mantis' waist, but as soon as she realized that she was actually _touching_ the insect with her bare hand, the entomophobe let go with a primal reflex of disgust and hit the floor, letting out a loud, pained gasp.

A cold shiver running through her body, Eli stood up and started running again, losing a lock of hair as she barely avoided a blow. Her foreleg stuck in the wall, Manticia munched angrily while trying to tear her limb out.

_Damn !_ Watching the struggling mantis absently, Eli quickly analyzed her options. She obviously needed to immobilize the colossus, even if it was for a second. _But how...?_

Manticia shrieked and Eli hit her forehead upon realizing that the colossus was _already_ crippled, and while the insect struggled inefficiently, the girl did not waste one more split second. She ran along the foreleg and jumped on her back.

With a loud scream, Eli brandished her weapon high up in the air and pierced through Manticia's hard skin right into her shiny weak point, a large amount of green liquid splashing on her t-shirt. At the very instant the sword penetrated her back, the colossus arched her body, letting out a long, ear-tearing, pained cry that reverberated throughout the cave, and collapsed heavily on the ground, sending her defeater flying a few meters away.

"_You... you..._"

Sitting up, Eli yelped seeing the slushy, greenish substance staining her t-shirt, and yelping again, she took the disgusting fabric off and threw it as far away as possible from her.

"_Pitiful creature... We are legion..._"

It was only then that the girl actually wished she had worn a bra. If the piece of underwear seemed very unnecessary in general, in that particular occasion it would have actually been of some use. She glanced at what she had once called her t-shirt before deciding that being shirtless, if very embarrassing, would be much more bearable than having some sticky, mantis' blood on her.

"_You will not get away with... that..._"

Seeing her precious logbook lying on the floor, Eli smiled and took it in order to use it as protection to cover her small breasts, feeling a sensation of comfort as her fingers caressed the leather of its cover.

"Eli..! Are you in here ?" Zoro yelled from behind the rock obstructing the entrance of the room.

"YES !"

Turning her head over her shoulder, Eli watched the boulder moving, and as soon as she spotted the swordsman, reached out her arm in his direction.

"Your t-shirt, give it to me."

Silently, Zoro looked at Eli, then at the giant mantis lying on the ground, and at Eli again. His usual expressionless eyes traveling from the girl to the colossus, the young man was speechless, and after a few seconds, his eyebrows went up, making him look somewhat impressed.

"You took care of _that_ ?" he finally asked.

Eli sighed and repeatedly snapped her fingers. "Your t-shirt."

With a grunt, the swordsman took off his t-shirt and threw it to his crewmate. Smiling, Eli put it on. In spite of all the sweat, blood, and cuts all over, it seemed just perfect, and while she was contentedly observing the piece of clothing, the girl didn't realize she had just missed a perfect chance to boast, at last, before the never-impressed young man.

Without wasting one more second in the dreadful mantis' lair, the two pirates walked through the forest more or less in the direction of Montblanc's house. They were rightly exhausted, yet alive, and all the while, Eli did not think for one second about the heaven-sent sword. After all, it was stuck in a mantis' back, thus way too disgusting to be of some use.

"Now I know what Ace meant when he said you were pretty at getting yourself into trouble..."

"Shut up..."

to be continued

* * *

**Betaed by Fox MC.**

_Okay so two of you called for Ace to save Eli and one called for Zoro.  
Come on ! A girl can fight for herself ! If a mystical, heaven-sent weapon helps her..._

_Anyway, our little adventure is already over and I hope you liked it because I will soon write about whole new and original islands, adventures, and enemies._

_This little moment in the mantises' lair had taught our chronicler that she could fight her fear, and that's a good thing !  
Now you know how she came to fear insects.  
Horrible, wasn't it ? *shivers*_

_See you on Friday for the next chapter to see our favorite freckled pirate's reaction to Eli's outfit :P  
Until then I'll be waiting for your impressions._

_Damn it ! Forgot to say that I did a little illustration (which took me much more time to draw than to write the two wholes chapters...) for this chapter you can see it on my profile !  
_


	54. Strong

**Chapter 54  
Strong**

It took some time, but in the end Eli managed to convince Zoro that she should be the one leading the way back to Montblanc's house. In spite of his tragic lack of sense of direction, the swordsman didn't seem to be ready to listen to the trouble-magnet of a girl yet. However, the young man finally gave up as he came back to the entrance of mantises' lair for the umpteenth time, Eli patiently yet grumpily waiting for him there since she was tired of turning in circles.

After a few minutes, they effectively got out of the forest. The sun was setting in the horizon and the two pirates didn't look very surprised to see Montblanc having a calm discussion with a part of the crew. Obviously, Luffy's mysterious charm must have had the better of him, like it did for everyone the young captain met.

On the other side, his older brother looked extremely surprised, and as he walked in their direction, Eli saw that in addition to the surprise, anger was darkening the flame user's face. A wrinkling of his black eyebrows expressing his disapproval as he watched Zoro shirtless and the chronicler wearing _his_ t-shirt.

"What the hell happened ?" Ace asked rather angrily, walking by the two pirates' side.

"We-"

"Listen, Ace," Zoro calmly interrupted Eli, looking at the black-haired pirate with a severe expression on his face. "Next time, _you'll_ take care of the baby sitting."

"Babysitting..." Eli repeated slowly, wanting to doubt her hearing. "What ?"

"I just told you to keep and eye on her." Ace frowned at the swordsman, snubbing the girl quite openly. "How hard could that be ?"

The two young men came to a stop, and as she watched them having a heated discussion right before her eyes while ignoring her presence, Eli felt rage soaring up inside of her. They were pointing at her with their fingers, talking about her as if she was some kind of brat, or worse, an object.

"And why is she wearing your t-shirt ?"

"What ?" Eli's eyes widened upon hearing the words.

The girl had clearly caught the insulting insinuation and bombarded the young man with an infuriated glare. But Ace wasn't even looking at her. Persistently staring at Zoro, the flame user ignored Eli's anger, waiting for his answers rather than hers.

Her green eyes locked on him, a volcano of resentment erupted in her chest making the pirate girl's blood boil. How dared he act as if he cared ? As if he was jealous ! After all, _he_ was the one preferring to stay behind, sending the swordsman at _his_ place. Yet now, he was acting like a possessive husband. But Ace did not _own _her, and he had no right, _no right _to react in this manner.

Furious, she took off the stupid t-shirt, rolled it up into a stupid ball and as she was aiming for Ace's stupid face, she ended up throwing it on Zoro's mildly, stupid head.

At last, Ace was looking at her. At last, he was speechless.

His jaw hanging slack, she saw his dark eyes descending slowly to her exhibited chest before jerking up to her face. Wordlessly, he stood there, as if frozen on the spot.

With scornful huff, she briskly spun on her heels, and marched over to the Merry, utterly shirtless, and utterly infuriated. She ignored Sanji's swoons, Nami's calls, and some monkey's stares. Proudly, she marched, she strode, hitting the wooden deck heavily with her feet while hoping that the tremors she caused could be felt on the other side of the planet.

It was only when she entered her bedroom that Eli's prideful display came to a stop. Sliding down on the floor weakly, she felt a cold shiver racing on her bare skin as she pictured Ace's eyes on her small breasts. Briskly, she splayed her hands on her exposed chest, feeling her heart beating with force under her palms.

And then, she laughed...

At first, the girl was surprised to hear the loud flow of laughter pouring out of her throat but she did nothing to choke it. She laughed so hard that she had to hold her abdomen because of the pain caused by the convulsion. She laughed her heart out, her anger out.

Ace looked so stupid then... gaping at her sudden nudity.

She laughed, and it felt so good, so damn good...

* * *

Under a warm shower, Eli thought about her little adventure in the dreadful lair, and as the recollection of her epic battle filled her mind, a proud smile brightened her face. She had managed to fight, in spite of her phobia, in spite of being all alone, she fought and triumphed.

The girl was becoming stronger, and at this instant, she felt that she didn't need to rely on the others as much as she did before. She could take care of herself, and maybe, she could even protect the ones she loved.

Pumped up, Eli joined her crewmates to have a quick summary of the progress on their quest for the sky island.

Apparently, it seemed quite simple; the pirates needed to head back to the place where night had fallen during the day, the next day at noon. Then, they would be blown upward by a powerful current named the Knock-up Stream, in order to reach a large and dense cloud that went by the name of Millennium Cumulonimbus.

Very simple, and also very unbelievable.

Since the Knock-up Stream was extremely powerful, the Merry needed some reinforcements. The ones taking care of the task were none other that the monkey crew that the pirates had met the day before. Quite forgiving, the salvagers did it as a favor for their friend and also master; Montblanc.

Everything seemed to tick quite perfectly. The timing was short, for sure, but weren't they always carried by those rushed events ?

When the night came, filled with enthusiasm, the pirates and their new comrades ate and drank and laughed, celebrating like there's was no tomorrow.

During the night, Montblanc showed the pirates a log book that belonged to his famous ancestor Montblanc Norland. A four hundred year old log book, and on its pages, the description of mysterious objects coming directly from the sky islands as well as theories about the dreamlike land. While they listened to Robin's charming voice reading the book, the Straw Hats' fervor grew stronger with every word. The young pirates were impatient to start their adventure in the sky, and that was an understatement.

"_In the skull's right eye, gold is seen,_" Robin read out loud, making Nami startle at the word 'gold'.

It was written on the last page of the log book. The last words of a man who was sentenced to death. Montblanc had several theories about the meaning of the mysterious phrase; a city of the past, the crazy rambling of a dead man... In the end, he sadly concluded that Norland had taken his secret with him in his tomb, but was still very determined to find out what happened to the gold.

A bright alcohol-induced blush on his face, the man took the log book from the archeologist's hands and quoted another passage.

"_When we reached that island we heard a very loud ringing sound of bells. The sound from those gigantic, beautiful bells made of gold can be heard from all the corners of the sea, like a message delivering the city's glory in the old days. The change in civilizations throughout the ages in the endless oceans is for us, who have lived but a few dozen years, a grand matter that left us speechless !_"

Eli wallowed the beauty of the words, her eyes sparkling as they transported her back four hundred years ago, and somehow she hoped that one day, in a few hundred years, someone would read hers with such emotion. Producing her book from her bag, the chronicler caressed its leather cover lovingly, the images of the Straw Hats' adventure, past and future, flowing quietly in her mind.

Montblanc did not find the City of Gold yet, but he managed to find gold in the ocean's depths and showed the pirates his discovery; a golden bell. It was small compared to the one described in the book, yet it was shining magnificently; its sparkle symbolizing the hopes of a man fighting fervently against the ones who claimed that dreams were dead.

He also showed the golden statuette of a bird with a round body and a long and large beak. Montblanc told the pirates that it was called a 'South Bird' because its beak was always pointing south.

"DAMN IT !" he yelled out of the blue, startling the pirates. "You have to go to the forest quickly !"

"What ? Why !" Luffy asked urgently.

"You need one of those birds to get to the Knock-up Stream location," he said gravely. "It is the only way to sail south !"

* * *

The south birds were the more efficient way to find south in Grand Line and since the pirates needed to head straight in that direction to take the Knock-up Stream, they had to find one. Luckily enough, the south birds originated from Jaya's forests.

As they only had a night before their impending departure, the Straw Hats walked over to the forest's edge on the spot, and for increased efficiency, they split into small groups to search for one of those strange birds.

At first, when she saw Ace choosing Usopp as his partner, Eli burst out in laughter. But the young man wasn't joking, and as she watched him walking toward the forest with the gutless marksman, she heard herself cursing and yelling like a spoiled brat, claiming scornfully that she needn't a pair, that she could catch that stupid bird in a second.

Without adding anything more, Eli dashed into the forest alone, under the dazed faces of her crewmates.

_What's WRONG with him !_ she yelled inwardly, hearing vaguely the pirates screaming her name from afar.

She was sick of it, sick of his behavior, and sick of everything ! Running through the forest, Eli followed a strange chirping sound as it fitted Montblanc's description of the south bird's cry.

Eli could not understand what she had done to be treated like that by her friend. He was acting as if nothing was different, avoiding her while sporting an ever so friendly smile on his face, _as if_ they were still friends. But she could not be fooled; his behavior infuriated her to a point where she couldn't bear his presence anymore.

Seeing the bird resting on a branch, Eli dashed along the tree's trunk, and jumped on it, catching it swiftly.

_Damn !_

Eli's rage was burning up while she walked back at a leisure pace over to her cremates. If Ace had a problem, he could talk to her instead of pretending that everything was alright. But he was acting like a brat, and so will she, and because she had already made her apologizes, now the ball was in his court. Yet, if he wanted to ruin what they had, then she'll let him do it. She would even help him since, apparently, he did not care about their friendship.

"SHUT UP !" Eli yelled furiously at the south bird who was chirping frantically in her hands.

She held his beak closed, and glared at the mischievous bird until she heard the most atrocious sound coming from behind her...

A droning sound... and it was getting closer, fast.

Stunned on the spot, Eli held the bird's beak even tighter, as if it was the only thing that she could hold on to. Extremely slowly and cautiously, she turned her head over her shoulder. Her face bleaching out as she saw a swarm of wasps flying toward her. At this instant her mind went blank, unable to order her body to run away from the threat; she was petrified.

They were closer and closer, yet Eli could not move, she could not yell and she felt like she was dying.

_Move..._

A voice inside of her head, her voice, it called out for her and slowly, her reason came rushing back in her head. Many voices arose, they were yelling, crying, laughing at her, and Eli focused on the little one, the one that was telling her that she was strong now, that she couldn't let herself be controlled by the fear anymore.

_Move !_

Watching her worst nightmare coming at her in slow motion, and in spite of her trembling insides, in spite of the pain, the memories, the fear... Eli knew one thing; she could run. She could always run. It was what she was best at. No one ever beat her, no one could could _ever_ beat her, and as a slight ray of courage lit inside of her, she knew she could fight, her own way.

Slowly, she turned her head around, she could hear them, they were right behind her. Eli lifted her feet and then... someone... him... flames... and after that... the warmth of his embrace.

Eli was trembling relentlessly in Ace's arms. Pressed against his strong body, she clutched the fabric of his shirt. Tenderly, he caressed her cold skin, whispering gentle and reassuring words in her ear while her body gradually became hers again.

With a loud gasp, Eli jerked out of his arms and slapped Ace across the face, with all of her strength and fury.

"Why did you _come_ ?" she screamed hysterically, unreasonable accusations knowing all the while that Ace did nothing wrong. "I'm not your damsel in distress !" She was yelling so loudly that the words teared at her tightened throat from the inside. "You ignore me and then come and rescue me ?"

"Eli !"

As Ace grabbed her arms, Eli struggled fiercely, shaking the poor south bird in all directions. His grip tightening on her thin arms, she did not feel how much it hurt for it was nothing compared to the excruciating agony she felt in her chest. She wanted to yell her anger out, she wanted to hurt him as much as he hurt her.

"I HATE YOU !" Eli barked, glaring deeply into his eyes.

"STOP CRYING !" Ace yelled back.

"I'M NOT... crying..."

It was only then that she felt the tears flowing from her eyes, a large and unstoppable stream of tears. An incredulous expression on her face, she looked at Ace, feeling the warm and salty flow pouring over her cheeks. Suddenly, the young man let go of her and Eli rubbed her eyes vigorously but the tears kept on flowing against her will. And Ace... he was looking at her with what Eli could only see as pity.

"It's the WASPS !" she yelled, anger boiling in her watery eyes.

_Liar..._ It wasn't the wasps. It was many things, but it wasn't the wasps.

The frustration, the anger, the hate... and more. The frustration she felt because, once more, he had came to her when she was the most vulnerable. The anger of feeling so helpless next to him when she didn't want to need him. The hate against that man who made her her feel so weak.

Why did he have to make himself so indispensable ? She didn't want to need him... Because the need of him hurt her more than anything, and because Eli felt that she had no right to need him.

"It's the wasps..." Eli repeated quietly, trying to convince herself of her own lie.

"I know," Ace said quietly.

She hated that he was here, she hated the need of his arms, of his embrace. All those confused feelings jostling in her mind, under her skin... Eli hated it all.

While she was trying to hide her pitiful face from him, she saw him taking a step closer, she saw his hand lifting in her direction, before falling again to his side. Silently, Eli watched his withdrawal. Her eyelashes were heavy as they bore the weigh of tears blurring her vision, but she saw clearly...

Restraint.

Ace was restraining himself before his desperate friend. He wasn't even looking at her. Uncomfortable obviously, the young man remained silent, and slowly, watching him so close yet so distant, the tears stopped flowing, her body cooling off within the unusual coldness that was emanating from the young man.

Without a word, Eli started walking to meet with her crewmates, the now quiet south bird watching as the two friends began growing away from each other...

to be continued

* * *

**Betaed by Fox MC.**

_Lots of things happen in this chapter._

_I always pictured Ace as the jealous kind. He is a proud young man, and quite hot-headed.  
However, Eli isn't his (yet ? ever ?), and I like that she isn't the sort to be pushed around.  
And I love the scene where she takes off the (stupid) t-shirt to shove it in Ace's face.  
It is quite a pity that her aiming skills are so bad._

_And now, the last part, a very important part._

_Wasps are Eli's nemeses. Facing them, she felt like the twelve year old girl locked in the cabin.  
They are her worst fear, but they also represent all the oppression of her native country.  
I know I only gave you small hints about it but remember what she said; first, no women were allowed to learn the Rokushiki (martial art originated from her country), then, she said that women didn't have more rights than a girl.  
With this you can begin to picture in what kind of environment she had grown up.  
It is the very reason for her strong character, she is stubborn, and proud, and when she thought she had became stronger, when she had managed to find the strength to flee her fear, Ace showed up.  
Frustration._

_Yet, thanks to her hysterical fit, Eli is starting to see, she is starting to feel, and no matter how much she hate her feelings, they are surfacing, and she won't be able to ignore them much longer.  
But is it too late already ?_

_The next chapter to be published will be a Freckles, and it should be online on Monday.  
Be there ;)_


	55. Holy Shit

**Freckles 55  
Holy Shit**

Ace did not let Eli go on her own this time, and even if he kept his distances and walked a dozen meters away from her, she could hear his every step behind her.

Above them, the moon was shining brightly in the clear night sky, but through the thick forest's canopy, the ethereal rays of light barely reached the two silent pirates. However, Eli did not care for the dangerous aura emanating from every bush and shadow. She was lost in her thoughts and the darkness prevailing around her were nothing to the ones of lingering in her soul.

Listening to Ace's every muffled step, the pirate girl wondered how they had come to that critical point. They used to be so close and even closer recently, but now... they were wordlessly walking in the same direction, a few meters away from each other, as if they were complete strangers, and in the end, maybe they were.

In spite of the years spent together, in spite of being in the same crew, in spite of the evident affection they shared, there was always a wall separating the two friends from each other. An invisible and impassable wall, and as she could see it at last, Eli couldn't help but think that she was the one who had built it.

The girl knew that she had kept too many secrets from her friend; her painful past obviously, but more importantly, her feelings.

All things considered, Ace was the only person with whom Eli restrained herself, and for that very reason she could not blame him for acting the same, but it hurt nevertheless. The ache was real and unbearable. A sad frown on her face, she pressed the south bird against her pained chest.

Even though she was aware of that self repression, within the years, the girl had never been able to find the strength to fight the chains that she had put upon herself because she felt, from the very first day she met the young man, that if she let herself act freely with him she would inevitably end up injured.

Eli didn't see why though, or more accurately, she _couldn't_ see the obviousness; she was falling in love with him, and it was a long fall, a years long fall...

But somehow, it was too big for her to see. As if she was standing in front of a huge picture, her field of vision only showing a part of it, she was incapable of understanding its whole.

However, at that moment, as they were walking silently in the Jayan forest, what she saw, what she _knew_ was that she needed him, more than anyone else. Not to protect her, not to fight for her. She needed him to talk to her like they used to, make her laugh, smile at her, and for all those little and wonderful things he did, she wanted him to be by her side, always.

And she needed to tell him...

On an impulse, Eli came to a stop and swirled around, swinging one of her legs. Ace froze on the spot. Looking at the girl as if he had been caught doing something wrong, she saw him opening his mouth before closing it again.

Clenching her fists, she resolutely walked over to him while the south bird she was holding observed the scene with expectation. Eli didn't want to be scared anymore, she was ready. While she kicked the ground with her feet, the chronicler felt assurance swelling inside of her with every step she took toward Ace. She would speak freely, let her heart decide and forget her fears because she trusted him, because she _needed_ him.

A serious look on her face, she came to a stop a step away from him while Ace wasn't quite looking at her, an unfamiliar glimmer in his dark eyes.

"I miss you, Ace," she simply said, for once speaking her mind without restraint. "Don't ever leave me again."

Eli wasn't aware of how intimate her demand was, and even if she were, she surely wouldn't care. The only thing she cared for was for him to be by her side. She stared at him in the eyes, without fear, without doubt, nothing but pure truth, and Ace seemed to be pierced through by the girl's unstained stare.

"I thought you were scared of me," Ace finally said gravely. Barely withstanding her eyes, he lifted hesitantly his hand to his temple. "I don't want-"

"I was wrong !" Eli claimed loudly with an angry frown and with a quick shake of her head, it soon became sad, pleading. "I was wrong... Stay with me, please."

His previously lifted hand fell to his side, the black haired pirate looked like he was at a loss for words, and so was she. The silence making her conviction wane, as well as her every muscle, Eli took a step closer and leaned against his chest, seeking solace for the both of them.

"Please..." she murmured in his ear.

On the spot, Ace firmly grabbed her shoulders and pulled her away from him, creating a painful distance between him and the girl. The south bird's eyes widened, almost as much as Eli's as they looked at the young man.

Why ? Why was he holding her away from him ?

Ace's head dropped down, startling Eli as his flashy hat stood right before her eyes. Her jade eyes filled with incomprehension, she was desperate and lost for it was the first time that her friend had pushed her away. Unconsciously, she had always feared this day, and so never asked him anything. She had feared this moment, and now that it was upon her, somehow, it did not hurt, it just seemed... unreal, and so very wrong.

"Ace I-" she began and found herself cut short, as the young man briskly lifted his face, staring at her right into the eyes.

"You have to tell me what you want," Ace ordered, frowning at her. "I won't understand until you tell me."

Swallowing hard, Eli tried to find the words through her rushing mind, but it seemed that her previous assurance had quickly withered. It was her turn to avert his unendurable stare. Her head drooped loosely and she absently gazed at their feet, anxiety stirring inside of her.

Ace was holding her, yet he was pushing her away, demanding answers from her, and for the very first time, she wondered; just how much did she want of him ?

_All of it..._

"Please..." she quietly said once again, yearning for his warmth, needing his embrace just as much as she needed to breath.

Eli slowly raised her face when she felt the young man's grip tightening on her frail shoulders, and as she looked at him, she saw something keen quivering in his inky eyes. It wasn't anger nor hate, not even annoyance...

Pain.

Ace was in pain, and upon realizing that she was the cause of it, something akin to guilt rustled within her chest. All this time, she had thought that she was the one suffering the most. She thought that he didn't care for her.

How selfish and blind she was.

Digging her teeth in the flesh of her bottom lip, she lifted her hand to his cheek and spoke her regrets with the gentle motion of her fingertips. At the touch, Ace held his breath for a second. Eli felt his hold loosening while his eyes flickered strangely as he gazed at her lip where her teeth remained.

"I'm sorry..." she said weakly.

With a deep sigh, Ace pulled her back in his arms securely, the south bird's eyes filling with tears of emotion as he watched the tender embrace of the two pirates.

"...you'll have to tell me, Eli," he said softly in her ear.

With a hearty smile on her face, like a child; naïve and carefree, Eli wallowed the affectionate moment. She closed her eyes and wrapped her thin arms around him, soothed by his voice as well as his familiar warmth, so capturing and reassuring, like no one else's, and as she felt her heart gradually warming up inside of her chest, she knew...

_Holy shit !_

Her eyes wide open, she knew.

_Oh, no..._

Her heartbeats increasing tremendously, she knew now.

_Oh, god..._

At that moment, Eli wanted to go back to the ignorant person she was a few seconds ago. Clutching Ace's shirt with her numb fingers, the girl chewed her bottom lip nervously while she desperately wished for a little jump back in time. Just a little ten second jump... Was that too much to ask ?

_Damn !_

Eli stiffened in Ace's arms while her mind filled with one thousand questions. Why ? When ? How ? What the hell ? But in the end it didn't really matter; she was screwed, completely, utterly screwed. Screwed to death, because she had made a terrible, irreparable mistake.

She had fallen in love with her best friend...

_Fuck..._

to be continued

* * *

**Betaed by Fox MC.**

_Sorry, short chapter but it really deserved to be published on its own._

_I feel that 'Somewhere Only We Know' by Keane fits this chapter quite well._  
_If you like the song just try and read it again while listening to it :)_

_So, how long have you been waiting for Eli's epiphany ?_  
_I wonder if you liked it and if it came up to your expectations._  
_Please tell me, I'm really starving for your reviews on this one._

_See you soon :)_


	56. Pirates Of The New Age

**Chapter 56  
Pirates of the New Age**

An umpteenth whine pierced the air. It had escaped the girl's mouth as she felt her limbs going painfully numb, her vain struggle in a net of vines only causing the indigenous ties to entangle her body tighter than before. Hearing footfalls closing in, Eli hastened her strive. Grumbles and wailing accompanying her jerks and kicks, her south bird was looking at the reckless girl questioningly.

"What are you trying to do, I wonder ?" a very familiar voice asked from behind her.

Tilting his head to the side, Ace observed the girl and the very odd position her skinny body was in. Bonded a few centimeters above the ground by the natural cordage; she resemble a broken puppet.

At a loss for words, Eli struggled harder, yet very ineffectively, her hands going blue from the lack of oxygen in her veins. Her face, however, flushed scarlet as she could feel the young man's dark eyes gliding over her enslaved body.

Ever since she had managed to leave the flame user's tender embrace, finding her crewmates was Eli's top priority. But despite her want, her _urge_ to find them as soon as possible, it seemed that her body wished to stay alone with Ace, by all means possible; her feet treacherously getting caught in almost all of the passing vines, rocks, and roots, her eyes blind to the trunks and spider's web that stood in her way...

She undoubtedly looked extremely stupid.

With a deep sigh, the flame user unsheathed his dagger and swiftly cut the vines. Eli gasped as she hit the ground roughly.

"Thanks..." she mumbled.

Rubbing her aching arms, Eli felt blood rushing again, pins and needles biting her flesh. However she didn't have time to linger there, she _had_ to find her crewmates and put an end to the awkward tête-a-tête. Hastily, she stood up and forced her wobbly legs into a stride.

In her hand, her south bird rolled his eyes making Eli glare at the judgmental bird, and through his little orbs, she could almost _read_ his reproaches.

"_You ask him to stay with you and now you flee him like the plague...? Make up your mind !"_

Eli huffed and promptly disregarded the bird.

It was true, though. She had previously requested Ace's presence to her side, _always_, the memory of the degree of intimacy of the demand causing the girl to slap herself inwardly and quite repeatedly, and even if he hadn't expressively concurred, the young man was there and his company was hard, so hard on her now that she had realized the loving feelings she held for him.

Seeing him, hearing him, sensing him so close to her, seemed unbearable. Eli wanted to flee, she wanted to hide, kicking the ground with her heels, she had hastened her pace many times. However, despite her several escape attempts; she had yet to leave him behind. Once distance was created between herself and the young man, a pain would swell inside of her chest, and, distracted from her course, the chronicler would end up tripping on any obstacle that stood in her way; Ace joining her a few seconds later, helping her out of any pinch she was in, every time.

In his stares and sighs, Eli read the confusion and the annoyance. They felt like stings in her heart yet she couldn't, she _wouldn't_ tell him what was going through her mind. Impossible, unbearable, for her acceptance of those feelings was yet to be considered.

Distracted once more, the girl stepped in a puddle of slime. Slapping her forehead, she felt herself slowly sinking in the mud.

"Shut up..." Eli muttered, looking at the south bird who was once more judging her through his little, mischievous orbs.

Ace quickly caught up with her, and watching the girl stuck in slime for the third time in less than an hour, the young man couldn't seem to contain his laughs anymore. Maybe their cause was this stupid running gag, or maybe it was because of the mortified look on her flushed face. Regardless of his reasons, his laughs were warm and unrestrained.

Since her dreadful epiphany, the flame user had been awfully quiet. He had been considerate and helpful, but not once had he looked into her eyes like he used to. Not once had he smiled at her, and now that he was laughing, even if he was laughing_ at her_, Eli felt warmth and affection lighting up inside of her. His laughter filled her ears, her soul, and the girl found herself gazing at the joyous face of her new-found love interest.

He was arrogant, his flashy hat, his shirt left open showing his muscular body, and the ostentatious accessories he sported on him made sure that he wouldn't go unnoticed through the thickest crowds. He was childish, his boyish freckles and his hearty laughter were perfect proof of that. He was strong, he was warm, he was handsome. His deep voice, his shaggy raven hair, his slightly tanned skin... everything on him made her heart pound as if she could see him for the first time. He was like a sunny day of summer. And while she was dazzled by all of his charming and radiant features, a smile on her face, Eli understood.

That was why. That was the very reason why she had fallen in love with him. The warm joy emanating from every bit of him; he made her happy. It was simple and amazing at the same time.

His laughing fit gradually fading, Ace reached out his hand to help the girl out of the pinch she was in.

Taken aback, as she had completely forgotten about the slime, Eli startled and stared at his hand, his large and probably deliciously _warm_ hand. With a hard swallow, the girl tried to unwind her trembling insides.

"Come on, I won't bite you," he said with an amused tone of voice, reaching out a bit further.

Eli clenched her hand nervously and, glad to feel that it wasn't sweaty, stretched out her arm. Blood throbbing in her sensitive fingertips, her skin brushed against his and the exquisite touch made her heartbeats increase instantly.

_Awwwwww..._

Her insides melted, squished, and moaned in delight as the young man curled his fingers around hers; warmth splashing over her heart on the spot. A large grin on his face, Ace tightened his grip and pulled her slowly out of the slime.

On second thought, Eli reckoned that being with him wasn't so _bad_. The two of them hanging out around here just a little longer even seemed like a very lovely idea and that in spite of the insects, the dark night, and the dangerous sounds emanating from every bush.

Yet, it appeared that luck wasn't on her side since at the very moment Eli decided _not_ to find the other pirates, the sound of Nami's yelling reached their ears. The two pirates soon found one, then two and all the groups that had dispersed through the forest, and every last one of them welcomed Eli like the messiah seeing that she had captured a south bird, putting an end to their perilous quest in the wicked forest filled with even more wicked insects.

All the while, the chronicler found herself continuously peeking at Ace. Watching him walking, talking, laughing... all with an unexpected interest. It seemed that a part of her wanted to treasure his every breath inside of her mind. It was only when her eyes met his that she managed to snap out of her daze and realize what she was doing.

_Stop that !_ Her face flushed with embarrassment, Eli squeezed her eyelids shut.

She was aware of how creepy she was and hated herself for that. But she couldn't stop it; released at long last, her loving feelings for Ace were taking the control of her mind and body. She was a slave of her love. Completely powerless against her cravings for every bit of him.

However, when they returned victorious from their dangerous expedition, Eli was definitely jerked out of her daze in a quite terrible way. Walking over to Monblanc's house, the pirates found that the chestnut-man had been attacked while they were gone. The Merry was heavily damaged too, its mast and its prow detached from the ship.

Luffy and Ace tried to make Montblanc tell them about the aggressors, but the man did not say a thing, pretending that it wasn't important and that the pirates' trip to sky island was the main priority.

"LUFFY !" Nami called out urgently. "The gold... it was taken !"

_The gold..._ It wasn't just gold; it was Montblanc's dream, the result of a ten years long quest, the cause for his illness, his precious treasure... Eli felt an impulse pound inside of her; wherever the criminals were, she would hunt them down, and seeing Luffy's eyes she knew he was sharing the same urge.

Even if Montblanc kept secret the identity of his aggressors, Zoro found the mark they left on a tree near his house; a crossed-out smiley face grinning widely. A pride mark probably, but they were going to regret this, bitterly. Apparently Luffy, Nami and the swordsman had already met the crew to whom the mark belonged, it was the ones who claimed to be the pirates of a 'New Age', the ones who despised dreams; Bellamy's pirates, and they were stationed in Mock Town, the town were the Straw Hats had set foot earlier that day.

Luffy and Eli exchanged a knowing nod, and without wasting any more time, the young captain jumped on his crewmate's back.

"You only have till dawn !" Nami said harshly.

"We'll be back _way_ before dawn," Eli said with a self-confident smirk on her face.

"Let's go," Luffy said while holding his straw hat.

One split second later they were gone with a powerful gust of wind. Eli ran along the coast, she was careful in not using all of her energy, even though she was more than impatient to give the dreamless pirates a lesson, because she might have to fight too, and then have enough stamina for the way back.

All the while Luffy was silent, but she could feel the rage burning constantly inside of him, because she shared the same feeling. What that Bellamy did was unforgivable, he could mock their dreams as much as he wanted, but stealing Montblanc's treasure was something else. Eli couldn't help but feeling guilty, if she had gone back faster instead of wasting her time obsessing over Ace, the pirates might have been able to stop him before he could even lay a hand on their comrades.

Yet, turning those possibilities over in her mind was utterly useless. If she wanted to make things right, she only had to focus on her course and bring Luffy to the aggressors. Seeing Mock Town appearing in the distance, Eli felt Luffy's embrace tightening. The teenager was restless and impatient to get Montblanc's treasure back, she sped up, and appeared right in the middle of the main street.

"Thanks Eli." Luffy got off her back and propelled himself on the roof of the tallest building in sight.

"BELLAMY !" he called out, his voice was so loud that Eli wouldn't be surprised if the Straw Hats heard him as well.

Standing in front of a tavern, Eli turned her head in the direction of squeaking hinges. A man stood there and blasted a glare at her. He was medium sized, had a tanned skin, and unkempt blond hair. He wore a navy blue pirate coat over his large shoulders.

"Bellamy, I guess," Eli said disdainfully. "My captain is looking for you." She pointed Luffy standing on the top of the roof and a sneer appeared on the man's face as his eyes met with the teen's.

"Do you have something to say to me ?" Bellamy asked, a dark frown on his face.

"Yes," Luffy said. "Return the gold you stole from diamond-head mister."

"Gold ! That old Cricket's treasure ?" Bellamy's legs turned into spring and he performed an amazing jump to join Luffy on the rooftop. "It's my loot as a pirate, and you're a pirate too. You don't have the right to say stuff like that to me."

His tone of voice was obvious mocking, but despite that and the scornful look on his face as he looked at Luffy, the young captain did not show any sign of fear.

Eli looked around as the main street of Mock Town quickly filled with dozens of people, looking eagerly upwards at the two pirates' confrontation.

_Vultures..._

"Yes I do," he stated calmly. "They are my friends, so I will take the gold back."

Bellamy laughed loudly, mockingly. His laughter resembled those of a sadistic, causing Eli's impatience to shoot up. A scornful look on her face, she clenched her fists to keep her rage inside.

"Can you even fight ?" he taunted. "Do you know how to throw a punch ?"

Luffy remained silent, no matter how many times Bellamy taunted him, no matter how insulting he was, the teenager just stood there, an unreadable look on his face. Eli was extremely impressed by his self-control; if it was her, she would have probably already lost it and went berserk.

"What can a trash like you do ?" Bellamy said loudly, and used his spring-legs to jump onto another roof, destroying the one they were on with the power of his propulsion. "I will destroy you in an instant !"

With maddened eyes, Bellamy launched himself at high speed toward Luffy who evaded the powerful attack at the last moment.

The crowd was amazed to see Luffy getting up, yet Eli didn't even bother to look if he was okay as she focused on Bellamy and took great delight in watching his surprise when the teenager stood up, unharmed.

With an insane laugh resonating throughout, the town Bellamy propelled himself from one building to another rapidly. The crowd looked upwards in awe as they searched for him, but Eli could see his every movement clearly. His jumps were random, and an utter waste of energy in her opinion. He was apparently trying to show off, but Luffy didn't budge. Eli was sure of it, he could see as clearly as her, after all he had trained with the fastest being in the world.

"That old man and those monkeys are idiots just like you !" Bellamy yelled. "Golden city... Sky Island... The age for daydreams is over !"

Luffy raised his hand slowly. "You asked if I know how to punch, right ?"

"FAREWELL STRAW HAT KIDDO !"

Bellamy charged straight toward Luffy, and Eli saw the look on his face, the devious face of a mad man driven by blood-lust. She saw Luffy's fist as he hurled it into Bellamy's scornful face, he didn't even use his ability.

Just a punch.

to be continued

* * *

**Betaed by Fox MC.**

_Sooooo... What do you think of Eli's reaction to her love epiphany ?  
__Apparently she is suffering from extreme clumsiness and stupidity...  
Sadly, those are the effects one-sided love can have on some of us.  
_

_Luffy was so damn cool during this fight, I hope I managed to renew its epicness !_

_See you on Monday my friends :)_

_ps : I got TWO gifts from **Daddy's Little Bloodsucker** ! Thank you :D  
You can see them on my profile._


	57. A Foolish Girl In Love

**Chapter 57****  
A Foolish Girl In Love**

Eli was shuffling at an amazing speed and behind her, a cloud of dust filled the air as her feet scraped on the ground. Panting hardly like an overworked racehorse, Luffy and the gold were heavily weighing on her frail back. Her legs were burning, her lungs and throat too and the girl didn't know if she would be able to cope with this excruciating pain much longer. Yet, after bragging to her crewmates that her and the young captain would be back 'way before dawn', the proud girl couldn't just give up.

At that moment, however, Eli wasn't thinking about that. All in all, she wasn't thinking the least bit. Luffy might have said something but as blood was hammering in her ears Eli wasn't sure. She wasn't sure of anything. Where was she ? What was she doing ? Running away from something or running toward something ? Was she even running...?

As the hazy questions echoed in her mind, her vision twirled and the girl collapsed roughly on the ground.

Gasping for air, Eli rolled on her back. She just needed a minute and then she would be able to stand again. Just a little minute... or maybe two. Her chest was heaving with an unprecedented magnitude as she gazed wearily at the stars shining brightly in the night sky until Luffy's grinning face obstructed her vision.

"Thanks !" he said cheerfully.

"Wh- What...?" she managed to gasp through her burning throat.

With a childish laugh, the young captain took off and sluggishly she followed his course with her eyes, a feeble smile making its way to her lips as she saw that, in the end, they had reached their destination.

A quick whining giggle and Eli rolled her head to gaze at the night sky again while allowing her weariness to spread through her muscles.

In the end, it didn't take the two pirates more than half an hour to reach Mock Town, kick Bellamy's arrogant ass and go back. Thanks to the speed of the errand, the Straw Hats were perfectly on schedule for their impending departure to the sky island.

Proudly, Eli was sure that this feat would definitely shut Nami's grumpy mouth and so closed her eyes as a reward for her exhausting achievement. The sound of the waves crashing regularly filling her ears, the girl let her fingers run through the grass, delighted at the refreshing touch on her heated skin and gradually, she drifted in the peaceful darkness.

"Hey," Ace said, crouching behind Eli's head. "Are you alright ?"

The medallion of his hat dangling slowly before her half lidded eyes; Eli was hypnotized by the sight of the young man's face.

Ace was close, not dangerously close, but close enough for the girl to be able to count his every freckle. His head was leaned downward; strands of raven hair were falling on his face. Quite charmingly, they were partly hiding his dark, inky eyes but she could see; he was looking at her, only her, and floating within the breeze that was caressing his face, Eli felt like she was the luckiest girl in the world.

Accompanied by a quiet whine, a sigh of content escaped her lips.

"Eli...?" Ace cocked a brow as he watched the girl gazing at him quite foolishly.

"Hey..." she breathed quite dreamily.

"Are you alright ?"

Her eyes snapping open widely, Eli's mind raced back in her mind. _Oh god ! _Briskly she sat up, a hand on her chest as if to contain her jumping heart inside of its ribcage.

"Fine," she mumbled, fear and many other emotions thudding in her ears.

_That was so very stupid !_ Her big green eyes staring forward, Eli mentally slapped her forehead and as it wasn't enough, she pictured herself uprooting a tree and bang her head with it.

Behind her, Ace sighed and stood up which caused a creak in her neck as Eli fought against her want to look at him over her shoulder. What if he saw ? But apparently, the young man was completely oblivious of her worries as he started walking away silently. Utterly irritated at her own reaction, Eli grabbed her knees, nails biting her skin.

His footsteps grew fainter and the girl ruffled her hair frantically, racked with an impossible dilemma; should she let him go or follow him...?

"Wait !" She stood up like a shot and stiffly walked in his direction. Apparently she had chosen the later choice. "What- where..."

_Great..._ Manifestly, the chronicler couldn't come up with an intelligible sentence, her frantic heartbeats apparently incapacitating her brain. Covering her face, Eli squeezed her eyes shut while trying desperately to calm her frenzied mind and form a sentence containing more than one word. Preferably a sentence that would _mean_ something, obviously.

"What are you doing... these days...I mean... now... where are you going ?"

There... Well almost, but that was still quite an achievement for the brainless girl she had become.

Feverishly waiting for his answer, Eli spread her fingers a little and squinted at him not so stealthily; a hand on his hip, Ace was looking at her, a very puzzled expression on his face.

A deep sigh, slightly annoyed, and then an arms folding, somewhat condescending.

"We are preparing the Merry," Ace said after a moment. Narrowing his eyes, he leaned forward to observe the girl's face. "You should rest, you look exhausted."

"Not at all !" Eli said loudly, waving her hands as she did before clearing her throat. With a sheepish laugh she scratched the back of her head. "I'm fine, let's go."

Still suspicious, Ace leaned a little bit closer to her, making the girl lean backward, very uncomfortable to studied of the sort. Eli swallowed hard to put her heart back in her chest; he was close, very close, so close that she could feel his unnatural warmth caressing her skin.

Was it even permitted to be so hot ?

"Fine." Ace straightened up and walked over to the Merry.

Stunned, Eli felt her legs tingling; her body yearned to follow him. She could feel her every muscle fighting, they wanted to make her walk in his direction, follow him wherever he was going, no matter how wrong and torturing it was, and while this silent battle was raging inside of her, Eli wanted to whine, to run, to flee. She wanted to slap her own face to remind her body that she was the one in control.

But she wasn't in control, _Ace was_, and as she saw the young man looking questioningly at her over his shoulder, Eli wasn't so surprised when her legs started moving on their own to join him. No, she wasn't surprised, yet she was slightly irritated.

_Damn..._

Her irritation, however, quickly vanished as Eli climbed on the Merry. Curiously, she found that, on the little ship, everyone was bustling about. Lanterns lighting up the deck, the sound of hammering resonated from all around. Apparently, most of the damages caused by Bellamy were repaired and now, the monkey-men helped by some of the pirates were equipping the Merry with great wooden wings.

A soft smile on her face as she watched everyone working together in such a good mood, Eli felt pumped up again but as she turned her head to share some words with Ace, the young man turned to leave.

"Where are you going ?" Eli asked, watching him opening the hatch leading to the males' quarter.

"The keel is damaged, I'm taking care of it," he said while looking down before disappearing inside of the room.

Without giving it a thought, Eli armed herself with a hammer and a lantern and followed the young man. However, her impulse came to a stop as her foot touched the first rung; she had no idea how to repair a keel... Maybe she would be more useful with the rest of her crewmates.

Looking absently at the tool in her hand, a little voice in her head told her that it was not like it mattered if she knew or not how to repair _anything_, and even if her heart started pounding harder as she understood _why_ she had so quickly chose this task, Eli obediently complied to the little voice.

Climbing down the mast, a musty smell mixed with male sweat invaded the girl's nostrils. She planted her feet on the floor and as her eyes traveled around the room, Eli noted that it was the first time she entered the males' quarters. The dorm was much larger than the girls'. The main mast of the Merry ran through the center of the room which was equipped with six hammock and couches. At the feet of each hammock, the girl could distinguish the name of every pirates carved in the wooden wall.

Looking over her shoulder, Eli noted that she was alone; Ace must have entered the room which gave access to the keel and so, a mischievous smile on her face, she found herself approaching the hammocks in search for _his_.

_How childish... _Eli chuckled heartily, seeing that unlike the others, his name was _pyrographed_ in the wood. Her hand moved on its own and her fingers caressed his name absently, a warm sensation arising inside of her as her fingertips touched the burnt letters.

"What are you doing ?"

Startled, Eli spun on her heels to look at the young man. Silent, he peered at her, behind her and back to her again, deeply. A black brow went up and the girl swallowed hard feeling her whole body tightening as if trapped within an invisible net.

"I was just..." Eli cut herself short; what was she doing actually ? "Looking, just looking..."

_Looking at your name..._ she finished inwardly, incapable of confessing that simple thing because then he would surely know that seeing those three letters made her, somehow, happy.

Apparently accepting her explanation, Ace left and when she saw him disappearing behind the door, Eli exhaled agonizingly. The girl stayed still for a moment, feeling the sharp tension gradually dispersing from her body. Her heart, however, was still squeezing painfully, a hand on her chest, she wished she could ease the ache. But how could she ? A blow didn't cause the pain she felt...

It was love.

Love was an addictive anguish, unbearable and delicious; exquisitely excruciating. And she wanted more.

Eli let her arm fall to her side and walked over to the door. Expectation, excitation, they were engulfing her as she got closer to the small room in which the young man was. It was such a simple thing, yet catching a mere glimpse of him, threw the girl into a state of agitated confusion.

How troublesome... At this rate, her heart would probably snap of exhaustion within the year.

With a quiet sigh, the girl pushed the door shyly. The room was rather small and the number of wooden cases stacked over each side reduced the space considerably. Observing it, Eli concluded than it would be impossible to fit more than three persons inside. There was no porthole on the walls and so, the only light illuminating the room was that of the little vacillating flame of a lantern placed on the floor next to Ace.

For a moment, she observed the young man. His back facing her, he was straddling the keel while nailing a metal plate to the beam. After this quick and silent lesson, Eli sat behind him; she put her bag and lantern next to her, picked a metal plate and started nailing as well.

Her hammering echoing his, the girl tried hard to focus on her task, on her every movement, and somehow, the simplest act of picking up a nail was surprisingly challenging when, apart from the hammering, no sounds were heard.

Under normal circumstances, Eli wouldn't be troubled by the silence. In the past, the two friends had spent hours together without saying a word. But at that moment, even if it lasted only a few minutes, the lack of verbal exchanges weighed heavily on her hectic heart and left to her thoughts, the girl's mind wandered wildly along his large back, under his shirt...

"Hey !" Once again aware of her loudness, Eli cleared her throat. "What happened to my ship ?"

"Your ship ?" Ace looked over his shoulder and watched the girl questioningly.

"The ship I gave you." Focusing on her metal plate, Eli took another nail and swung her hammer on its head. "When you left Fuschia..." she trailed off as a terrible memory resurfaced along with her words, her hammer weighing suddenly ten times heavier.

_When you left..._ The night before he left.

Obviously, Eli didn't want to think about that, yet her mind wandering wildly in the deeper parts of her memories, it seemed that she couldn't ignore that night anymore. That foolish night...

_The_ night.

They were only kids then. Stupid and terribly foolish, Eli wanted to grow up and get rid of her virginity as if it was the last trace of her childhood. Yet, her affection for him was real and now she saw... She didn't only want to get rid of her virginity. She wanted to take his and him to take hers.

"It was small Twig..." She vaguely heard over the sounds of her own moans and whines playing in her head. "And old, I needed a bigger one."

Eli nodded silently, her eyes glued on her hammer swinging inefficiently on a crooked nail while her whole body was set aflame by the unwanted recollection of _the_ night.

"You needed it or something ?" Ace asked.

"No... I was just... doing small talk," she said almost inaudibly.

_Nice job in selecting the subject_, she thought wryly.

At that moment, Eli felt that should just leave. She was acting so foolishly and was aware of how annoying she was to him. Yet the girl couldn't be herself, no matter how much she wanted to act normally, she couldn't be the friend that he once knew, not anymore, and Eli hated the person that she had become. A foolish girl in love, brainless and inevitably annoying. A hindrance.

While she was lost in her self-deprecating thoughts, Ace turned around and picked the useless hammer from her hands. Surprised, she raised her head to look at him and as he gazed at her startled face, Eli felt a mighty shiver racing through her spine.

"Eli..."

A last breath.

"You have to tell me..."

A last heartbeat.

"... what you want from me."

And nothing.

Her mind was blank as she stared at him wordlessly. His black eyes, his lovely black eyes, they were gently gazing at her, understanding and warm, just like his tone of voice. Yet, they stunned her, froze her, on the spot. They pierced her with this impossible question and the impossible answer that went with it.

"Eli ?" Ace put his hand on hers as if to bring her back from the darkness she was falling into.

"I think... I heard someone calling..." She heard herself say evasively. The words had come out so naturally that Eli wasn't quite sure if she was lying or not.

"What ?"

"I think... Ima check that out..." Stiffly, she stood up, and finally detaching her eyes from his, Eli took off like a shot.

"Damn it Eli !" Ace yelled from afar. "Come back !"

Walking slowly up the stairs to the lounge room, Eli could breath again, she could feel her body again, yet her mind was in such chaos... Mechanically, she opened the door and closed it behind her. Completely blind to Sanji and Luffy's eyes on her, she sat on the bench of the kitchen table and let her head hit the wood heavily, pained mumbling escaping her mouth.

He was angry, obviously and quite rightly. Eli's whined involuntary as she pictured the flame user's angry eyes on her. He was mad, evidently. Taking her head in her hands, she pressed her skull forcefully. He must hate her, inevitably... But how could she answer his question ? She didn't know what she wanted. The girl had only realized her loving feelings toward him a few hours ago and since then, she was barely capable of thinking clearly. So how could she tell him what she wanted from him...?

Did she even _want_ to love him ?

"Are you alright Elisabeth ?" Sanji asked from behind her.

Listlessly, she raised her face from the table, looked over her shoulder, and slowly nodded her heavy head, a depressed expression on her face. Of course, Sanji tried to make her talk, but there was no way, no _damn_ way, she would share the source of her sufferings with the cook, with _anyone_.

Eli was ashamed of those confused feelings. She hated them, she hated herself, to the core and she loved him. She loved his tenderness, she loved his laughs, she loved his touch; she loved him, that stupid jerk, that gorgeous, warm, freckled bastard. It was his fault, obviously. Why did he have to be so nice with her ? Why did he have to smile at her ? Look at her...

With a languid lament, Eli let her forehead hit the table once more hoping that, somehow, the physical pain would distract her from the one choking her from the inside. That invisible yet, genuine pain.

Love.

Being with him hurt, yet being far from him hurt even more and for that reason, Eli decided that she had to go talk with Ace. She had to tell him that she couldn't answer his question, not yet. It was the best thing to do, act maturely for the first time in her whole life and hopefully, he would understand.

To increase her chances of success, the girl asked Sanji for a plate of food. Ace liked eating and so, would probably more inclined to understand her if his stomach was full. After thanking the cook, she took the plate and kicked Luffy away as he tried to steal its content. She walked out of the lounge room, down the stairs, to the mast, and climbed down the ladder for the second time of her life; her heart pounding harder with every stage of her trial.

Standing still before the room leading to the keel, Eli felt hesitation making her body tremble but her resolve was stronger than her fear... maybe. The girl filled her lungs with air, wishing that it contained a trace of courage and slowly, she pushed the door open.

"Hey, I brought..." She trailed off when her eyes fell on the young man, her faked cheerful face quickly morphing into blah.

_... Of course._

In the end, Eli wasn't so surprised to see Ace asleep on the floor. The bad timing of their interactions was recurrent and somehow comical. When she had finally decided to talk to him, the young man just _had_ to fall asleep.

A soft smile on her face, Eli put the plate on the floor and mechanically searched through her bag for her marker. Apparently, the girl had some remains of her old self still alive and kicking inside of her and was glad for them.

However, as she bent toward the young man's face to draw the usual whiskers on his cheeks, Eli found herself stricken at the sight of his freckles...The mischievous freckles, the lovely freckles, the charming and childish freckles...The freckles she had fell in love with even before knowing the name of the young man to whom they belonged.

Without thinking, Eli leaned further and pressed softly her lips on Ace's cheek.

How good it had felt then. She closed her eyes as a warm sensation washed over her delightfully, her lips brushing faintly the freckles that she adored, the man that she loved.

That moment, that precious moment, Eli wanted it to last forever... foolishly forgetting that nothing ever lasted forever.

to be continued

* * *

**Unbetaed. **_I hope it's okay._

_This was a long chapter, wasn't it ? (don't get used to it though !)_

_I hope you liked it and that you enjoyed this trip in Eli's fuzzy mind._

_Ace seemed to be rather distant, which is quite understandable considering the girl's lunatic behavior.  
He must be quite confused... Not as much as she is though XD_

_And now she's kissing him ! (damn you Eli !)  
__Okay it's on the cheek... AND he's asleep... but that's really something (for her).  
Obviously Eli doesn't realize what she is doing yet (does she ever realize anything...?)_

_I know some of you might resent me for this little cliffhanger (*hides*) but eh that's a pleasure of mine (mwaha) and I can wait to read your reactions about it.  
What do you think will happen next ? Please tell me :D_

_Like always, thank you very very much for your reviews, they really keep me going !  
And because I love you so much (so so much) I did a drawing of Eli in a dress !  
(omg wtf happened you might ask, well... it was requested on my facebook and I kinda like how it turned out)  
You can see it in my profile !_

_See you on Wednesday for the next chapter :)_


	58. Too Late

**Chapter 58****  
Too Late**

Under the silver light of the moon, the Merry was bustling with activity as the pirates and the monkey-men were preparing the little sheepy ship for its impending departure. On the deck, footfalls and laughs, yells and hammering resonated from all over in a good prevailing mood, and below, next to the males' quarters, in a dark little room, the silence.

Gently rocked by the slow and regular motion of the waves, two little lanterns cast their light upon a tender scene; a girl was kissing the cheek of her loved one.

Completely dazed by the purity of the moment, she had closed her eyes and, absently, she was now letting her lips caress the warm skin of the young man. Eli had no idea for how long she had been doing this for time had stopped at the moment her full lips came in contact with his freckles. She had no idea of how awake the flame user was and that even before she had allowed herself to act so recklessly. She had no idea that while she kissed his cheek lovingly, Ace was watching her with wide bewildered eyes.

A little delighted sigh blew against his skin and Eli let one of her hands plunge through his hair. Her fingers soaking in the warm mane, they soon matched its high temperature and moved feebly against the young man's heated scalp. Why stop there ? It was so good, and through her enraptured mind, no objection was heard. Soundless, it seemed that all of the voices that were previously quarreling to be heard were now soothed by the flow of entrancing sensations and had fallen asleep.

Eli was kissing him and all the rest had vanished from her mind. She was suspended from time and space, in a vibrant void.

Quietly, the girl felt a touch settling on her, its tender warmth subtly spreading to cover her entirely. A shift, a soft motion, and then the darkness in which she was floating lit up. It was twinkling, brilliant, blinding.

The green eyes snapped open and instantly met with dark ones.

He was awake.

His lips were touching hers and, surely enough, hers were touching his.

Upon that terrible realization, Eli felt a large hand gripping her body, crushing her flesh and bones with a soundless shriek.

A sudden and forceful rush of energy raced under her skin and the girl found herself desperately scrambling away backwards, the skin of her palms burning with the friction against the wooden floor. During her frantic withdrawal, Eli's eyes never left Ace; she didn't even allow herself to blink. In her chest, her heart was exploding over and over again.

Too soon, her back came in contact with a wooden case and fear swept over her.

Petrified, her wide-open eyes were glued on Ace; a dangerous gleam in his magnetic, obsidian orbs, the young man got on his hands and knees and started advancing toward her. Quiet and slow, he looked like a feline on the hunt.

Only a meter was separating them, yet she could have fled. If only her legs hadn't lost the ability to stand upright. Numb, it felt like they had been cut. All that remained of the girl's body was her pained chest where her heart throbbed vociferously.

And Ace was advancing; he was so close, something in his eyes burning her soul.

Slowly, he lifted his hand to her cheek, cupped her face, and brought his closer. And while Eli's heart was drumming on her ribcage, with every beat, Ace's mouth was getting closer to hers.

Staring at the young man's lips, Eli knew she wanted this. Even if Ace didn't share her sentiment, even if it was just a game for him, even if it would only cause her pain... she wanted this.

Then why was she so afraid...?

The fear Eli felt was overwhelming, a fear worse than that of death, a fear with no face, like a memory she couldn't see, like a silent scream. Ace's lips parted as he tilted his head slightly to the side and Eli felt her mouth scorching under his heated breath.

A terror-stricken expression on her face, she forced her eyes shut while desire thudded in her full lips.

Suddenly, the two pirates jerked their heads around to look at the girl's hand as it had gripped the flame user's wrist.

Ace seemed frozen by this sudden grasp. It wasn't strong, though; rather, it was trembling and feeble, almost faint, but his dark eyes widened with dread as he looked at the girl's slender fingers curled around his wrist.

Eli didn't understand her involuntary reaction. She hadn't even felt her arm moving until her skin had come into contact with his. As if it wasn't hers anymore, the girl was bewilderingly staring at her hand, despair washing over her at the impossibility of making the slightest movement.

"_... You can't kiss me, Ace._"

Through her mind swarming with dismay, she remembered... They had been in the same position three years ago, and like then, she was rejecting him while a voice inside of her was murmuring a terrible scolding.

_Kisses are for lovers. You have no right to be loved..._

"I'm sorry," Ace said, taking back his hand as Eli turned her head to look at him.

The girl had no idea how she would sound, but she had to say something because it was a misunderstanding.

"No, it's m-"

"I was wrong, I'm sorry." His voice sounded distant and his eyes had lost their glimmering heat.

Ace stood up, towering over her, and while watching him, Eli felt her heart shake with tremors of pain. He was going to leave and she had to stop him because it was just a misunderstanding, things were different from three years ago... She loved him now.

"Don't-"

But Ace kept talking impassibly. "It was all a mistake, you were right."

Maybe he couldn't hear her. Her eyes clinging on his large back, Eli swallowed air and tried again, a bit louder. "Wait, I-"

"You can forget everything now." He was almost at the door. "I won't bother you anymore."

Trying to ignore his grievous words, the girl used her arms for support and stood up. Eli had meant to walk toward him, but her knees were weak and she instead stumbled in his direction, splaying her hands on his back so that she wouldn't fall.

"Don't touch me !" he snarled. The acerbic tone of his voice vibrated under her skin, a shiver racing up her body, causing the horrified girl to jump backward on the spot.

Her fist was clenched to her chest where her heart was racing dangerously and Eli was staring at him with wide, incredulous eyes. Was she... _disgusting_ to him now ?

"Sorry," he said quietly and walked out of the room, pushing the door to a close behind him.

The metallic sound of the latch reached her ears and Eli slid back down onto the floor, her legs overcome by weariness.

With the last remainder of strength she still had, the girl brought her knees to her chest and hugged her legs for comfort. But nothing, _nothing,_ could soothe her distress, and as Ace's words played over and over in her head, Eli shrunk, feeling a sharp blade stabbing her chest with an excruciating regularity.

It was just a misunderstanding... A little mistake...

Eli felt so ugly then, small and insignificant... He was supposed to be her friend, yet Ace had been cruel, and she thought wryly that, after all, it was really just a game for him. Obviously tired of the girl's indecision, the young man had given up on her without giving her a second chance, without giving her an opportunity to explain herself.

And now some dark part of her seemed to try to convince Eli that it was for the best. After all, she wasn't supposed to be loved and to love even less. She didn't know why, though, but the voice inside of her head was unwavering.

Was it because she had already loved before ?

Was it because the very day the one she loved confessed his feelings was also the day she had to bury him along with all of her relatives ?

It had been a while since she had thought about Etowaru. How selfish of her. The young man had gave up his life and saved her. He had given her the life she had because he loved her and now she had forgotten him. Worse, she had _dared_ to love again.

Eli clenched her fists, nails digging into the palm of her hand. Love was supposed to be a good thing, it was supposed to bring happiness to everyone it touched, and she had been happy. She had lived her life without regret... a pirate, proud and strong. She had found friends, even a family. She had gone through wonderful adventures... but then, why was love forbidden to her ?

It felt so unfair.

One of the lanterns' flickering flame extinguished, and more than before, darkness engulfed the girl.

Maybe she just didn't fall for the good one.

Eli turned her head and rested her temple on her knees to look at the remaining flame. It was vacillant, and the shadows it projected were wavering all around her. She felt so alone then. Watching this little flame warmed her heart a bit, though. Even if he had hurt her like no one had ever hurt her before, the girl couldn't ignore the feeling of affection that remained imprinted under her skin.

Was Ace all right ? Was he satisfied with his decision ?

After all, it was not as if he loved her... was it ?

_No no no !_ Eli shook her head and promptly disregarded that impossibility.

They were friends, good friends, but only friends. They were happy; they had shared some wonderful moments together, and then...

Eli's heart squeezed painfully.

And then, she had tainted his tender friendship with her lust.

Behind her moist orbs, Eli saw the moment she had changed everything. They were in a hotel bedroom on a small and charming island. Sharing the same bed, she was charmed by Ace's warmth and had let her body speak a want she didn't know she had. She had let her hands touch him, caress him, and felt a terrible pleasure when he had returned her gestures.

It was all her fault after all.

Yet she loved him, and now she knew that even then she was in love with him, but her love was just like her, young and inexperienced, and Eli had surrendered the purity of her feelings for a thrilling moment, profaning forever their precious friendship in favor of her obscene impulse.

And now it was too late.

More than before, Eli felt disgusting. She didn't deserve Ace's friendship anymore. She was the initiator of this stupid game she hated so much and was convinced that his withdrawal was definitely for the best.

A sensation akin to comfort lit up inside of her as she concluded that in the end, she wouldn't have to fight her need of him anymore. Ace had made it easy for her; he had even asked her to forget.

But how could she forget now...?

With a deep sigh, Eli reached out to the remaining lantern and turned it off. In the little room, a weak light remained. The girl turned her head in the direction of the door; from its frame, faint rays were piercing through.

Eli rested her chin on her knees and stared at the door. Behind its wood, her life was waiting for her... Then why was it so hard to get up ?

Obviously, it was because somewhere behind that door _he_ would be there, and no matter how much she tried to convince herself that his withdrawal was for the best, Eli couldn't help but wanting to be by his side.

Curling into a tight ball, Eli closed her eyes. She wanted to disappear, sink through the endless darkness with her ache as her sole companion.

* * *

"Eli."

Weak protests in the form of muffled mumbles escaped the chronicler's mouth as she rolled on her other side as if to ignore the hyperactive teenager who was trying to get her to open her eyes.

Eli didn't want to wake up, she wanted to sleep forever.

"Eliiiii !"

A finger poked her cheek and Eli tried to stop the annoying strike, waving her hand in a motion that reassembled that of a cow's tail fighting weakly against a swarm of flies.

"Eli wake up !" Luffy said, the tone of his voice not losing an ounce of motivation no matter how unresponsive the girl was. "We're leaving soon."

_Leaving...?_

Eli opened one eye and winced as she found herself blinded by Luffy's bright grin.

"Sky Island, adventures, they are waiting for us !" Bouncingly, the teen moved around the depressed chronicler causing a slight sensation of vertigo even though she was lying on the floor. "Sanji has prepared food !" he added as if this information was as exciting as the previous, if not more so.

But Eli didn't want to eat, she wanted to starve _forever_.

"I'm not hungry," she sighed in retreat and rolled on her back while rubbing her heavy eyelids. "I'm coming, you can go." The girl ran her tongue along her teeth, disliking the taste lingering in her mouth.

Luffy nodded and made a motion to walk out of the room before stopping at the door.

"It'll be great, Eli, we're going to touch the clouds." Looking over his shoulder, he beamed at the girl before rushing outside while holding his straw hat.

Eli was surprised to find herself smiling. Was she allowed to smile ? Hands rubbing her face, she washed away the feeble expression and stood up dizzily, holding her head until a small rush of blood faded.

Half-heartedly, she walked to the door while her mind wanted to remain in the little room. Considering her gloomy mood, skulking alone in the darkness seemed like a better fitting activity than sailing into the sky. She didn't even know how she would face her crewmates, especially one of them...

Was she supposed to ignore him now ? Act as if they were complete strangers even though they lived together ?

With a sigh, Eli pushed the door to a close and walked in the direction of the mast to climb up the ladder.

Her head slipping through the hatch, she was welcomed by a fresh breeze along with the bluish light of the morning. Around her, the ship was still buzzing with activity, and once she steadied herself on the deck, Eli saw Usopp, a large grin on his childish face, making a motion with his hand, requesting the girl to join him.

"Look Eli, it's S.S. Forward on its flying mode," the marksman said, pointing at one of the Merry's new wings.

"Nice." Her eyes ran along the ship and soon met with a familiar figure. The sight of Ace making her heartbeat increase in both volume and rhythm, she quickly turned her head to look at the long-nosed teenager again. "Really nice." Eli forced a smile on her face, and Usopp smiled back.

"Ace-"

Her heart squeezed slightly at the mention of the name.

"-is giving it the final touch and then we'll be good to go," he said.

The marksman seemed so enthusiastic. Wasn't he scared of flying into the sky ?

After reconsideration and a quick observation, every pirate seemed to be exceptionally lively, except for Sanji who was whimpering in a corner of the deck, and Zoro who was as detached and grumpy as usual.

And Ace, of course...

Warm goodbyes were given to Montblanc and the monkey-men offered to join the pirates to their takeoff location. Luffy's cries of joy filled the morning air and, happily, the Straw Hats prepared the little ship to sail.

Eli's anguish didn't seem to go unnoticed as, not so subtly, her crewmates were cheerfully talking to her, smiling at her. The chronicler only felt more and more pitiful then, and her act seemed so eager to fall apart, so she forced herself to smile, she even forced herself to laugh, but once she was left alone, her eyes wanted to roll in Ace's direction.

The young man was fixing some parts to the Merry figurehead. Useless, but cute nevertheless; the sheep head was now equipped with a comb and a wattle making it look like a turkey.

Her eyes shifting from his task to the young man himself, Eli found herself smiling. He was rubbing his eye. It was simple, insignificant, but the sight of the flame user rubbing his eye in such a childish manner warmed up her heart.

He yawned and the girl found him cute.

Eli was so deeply charmed by those juvenile gestures that she was extremely surprised to find herself, a split second later, leaning over the railing while holding the young man by the wrist a few meters above the water.

Apparently, he had been struck by a narcoleptic fit and slipped from the figurehead.

Her reflexes were fast enough and she had managed to arrive just in time to catch him, but it was useless, she should have known. The young man weighed at least three times heavier than her and she wasn't strong enough to prevent his fated fall.

Ace's head snapped upward, his eyes widening as he watched the girl trying to hold him with all of her might and strength.

"Let go, idiot !" he ordered, a glare on his face.

Eli winced feeling her muscles flinching. Her free hand clawed to the railing, a burning sensation spread from her fingers throughout her arm; she should let go. The water wasn't far below and all over the ship, good swimmers could rescue the flame user within the minute. The girl knew that she should let go; her reason was _yelling_ at her to let go.

But Eli couldn't let go.

"I can't !" Eli whined, fighting futilely against the force that was pulling her overboard as well.

She would be falling, too, she knew it, but she couldn't let go, or maybe... maybe she didn't _want_ to let go.

"I won't," Eli corrected, shaking her head as she did.

The girl was looking deeply into his dark, bewildered eyes, a determined expression on her face to make sure Ace would understand that she wasn't planning on letting him go, not that easily, not ever.

"I won't let you go, Ace."

Eli knew that she wasn't talking about his fall, and as they plummeted toward the sea, her fingers still tightly curled around his wrist, she wondered if he knew, too.

The two pirates crashed into the salty water, cold enveloping them on the spot, and Eli limply slid her fingers in between his. Feeling all of her strength leaving her body at an amazing speed, she gave a faint kick to propel her body in his direction while Ace was looking at her. The girl had no idea what to think of his expression; surprise, shock, fear...?

But she wouldn't let go.

Love was forbidden for her ? And ? Nothing was forbidden for a pirate, and because she was a pirate, just like two boys taught her years ago, she would live her life freer than anyone, without regrets.

A brilliant sensation akin to hope fluttering softly inside of her, Eli knew that it wasn't too late. The mistakes she had made, she could erase. His harsh words, his coldness, she forgave them all. It wasn't too late. They could try again. Maybe Ace didn't love her, but he said he liked her, he said she was pretty, they were good with each other...

She hadn't fallen for the wrong one, and so she will never let him go.

Loosely, Eli wrapped her free arm around Ace's neck and pulled herself a bit closer to him.

She heard splashing sounds from above her, but it wasn't the prospect of her future rescue that was warming the girl's heart; she was smiling at the man she loved, and amazingly, he was smiling back at her.

to be continued

* * *

**Betaed by Iwin Ulose.** _(yup, he's back to help me for a few chapters since my current beta is busy)_

_**Hi Hikari No Kaze**__ and __**MangaMagic**__ guessed that Ace was faking his sleep. *clap clap*  
Many of you guessed or/and hoped that Ace would kiss Eli back, but I'm not sure you were expecting things to go so wrong._

_The first part was really distressing (for both Eli and I... for you as well ?), but then, Luffy's grin and after that, hope._

_:)_

_See you soon for the next 'Freckles' or a trip in Ace's mind if I manage to right the 'Twig' counterpart (I'm not sure)._


	59. Parasite

**Chapter 59  
****Parasite**

A dive in water, and particularly in seawater, always had a weird effect on devil fruit users.

Put aside the fact that it was completely incapacitating and possibly lethal, it was also, somehow, relaxing.

Along with strength and supernatural abilities, it drained the drowned's thoughts from his mind. The fears, the anxiousness, the will, the doubts... they were all diluted in the salty water and, floating in the midnight blue immensity, all that remained was a virgin soul awaiting to be born.

Her head broke through the surface of the water and Eli sharply drew in a large breath, filling her lungs with this new air as if it was the very first time.

It was painful.

Coming to life again was so very painful.

Sanji was as gentle as possible as he brought the girl back on the Merry but every movement forced upon her lifeless body felt like a brutal shake. Slowly, the young man installed her on the wooden deck and, as his hands finally left her body, Eli's mind slowly pacified.

Erratic and loud pants were making her chest heave as the girl was trying to catch her breath again. While she was absently gazing at the open sky, in the corner of her hazed eyes, Eli saw Ace being thrown roughly to her side. As the young man hit the deck with a loud thud, a spray of water dispersed on her; the salty droplets merging with the ones lazily trailing over her skin.

During their rescue, the lifeguards had separated the two pirates, and now, lying by his side, Eli's hand was weakly searching for Ace's again.

She was looking upward at the magnificence of the morning sky. Steel blue setting ablaze by streaks of fire, the brilliant colors reflected in her jade eyes while the girl's fingers crept shyly toward the flame user's hand. Her fingertips grazing the wood, Eli's arm limped slowly but surely in his direction. Salty water was dripping from her skin and her approach left dark lines and stains on the wooden floor.

Her movements were slow but sure for she had no doubts, and soon, the skin of her knuckle brushed against his.

Without exchanging a glance, Ace took Eli's hand in his and the two pirates found, once again, the embrace that they had lost.

It was such a simple thing.

Holding hands.

It was such a little thing; a loose and damp embrace. So how could such a little thing make a girl so thoroughly happy ?

Maybe because it wasn't just _any_ hand. It was the hand of a dear comrade, the hand of an old friend... the hand of the man she loved.

"Ohhhh ! How cute !" Usopp had an unrivalled skill to make his voice exceptionally annoying sometimes. "They're holding hands !"

It shouldn't have been embarrassing but, because of this childish teasing, Eli found herself wanting to take back her so comfortably installed hand and slam it into the marksman's face. Ace, however, did not seem to share the girl's discomfort as he squeezed his large fingers a little tighter; the weak hold making the girl's doubts vanish in a instant.

"You said you won't let go," Ace said quietly.

It felt warm.

His hand, his voice; it felt so warm inside of her, and on her cheeks too. Yet, ignoring how warm and mush the words made her feel, along with the marksman's childish laughs, Eli kept unperturbedly staring upward to keep her mind focused; she had a battle to fight, against herself, and for him. A hope inside of her pushing her forward, the girl knew that she had already been enough of a coward and therefore she couldn't and absolutely _wouldn't _flee anymore.

There was a chance, a tiny chance that her wish she could achieve. It wasn't out of reach, it was within range and she could even touch it.

"I want to talk to you." Her fingers twitched a little in Ace's hand as she had let the earnest words coming out of her mouth. "Alone."

From the corner of her eye, Ace's body shifted slightly and Eli dared to roll her head in his direction and look at him. How stupid she was ! If his previous words had already set her cheeks ablaze, the sight of the wet flame user lying wearily next to her finished to give her a crimson tint, and now, the girl looked like she had engulfed Usopp's entire reserve of Tabasco.

The fabric of his shirt plastered on his heaving chest, its light color making the skin and muscles underneath clearly visible, beads of salty water trailing from his shaggy hair and over his freckled face; yup, he was definitely the sexiest man her green eyes had ever laid on.

That was why Eli was extremely grateful when Sanji planted his heel in Ace's forearm.

"Don't touch her shitty cowboy !" the cook said scornfully while Ace rubbed his arm, hatred burning in his eyes.

A verbal battle ensued until the flame user shot a fire bullet right into the blonde's swirly eyebrow. On the spot, Chopper started running all around, yelling that the young man needed a medical assistance, therefore, Nami made him notice that he was the doctor on board. Of course, Zoro had burst in laughter the very instant the swirly brow was set on fire, making Sanji turn his wrath against him...

To sum up it was a complete chaos.

A wonderful chaos.

A smile on her face, Eli stood up and went over to the railing to wring her soaked tank top. However, her smiling face quickly morphed into dread when she noticed how flimsy the piece of clothing had became.

Obviously, she would have to change.

The ashamed girl covered her perky breasts showing through the drenched fabric and began to walk over to the door of the storage room. Her stiff legs carrying her as quickly yet stealthily as possible, Eli was extremely glad that the little catfight got the attention of all the person present on the little ship.

"Eli, wait."

Maybe she was being too optimistic when she thought that _everyone's_ attention was focused on the wrestle. Apparently, the chronicler's escape didn't go unnoticed for at least on of them. Obviously the very one she couldn't face at the moment.

The girl hugged her chest a little tighter.

"Hey..." An awkward expression on her face, Eli slowly turned around to look at Ace.

Of course he _had_ to be still wet... Didn't he have some unnatural warming abilities to prevent that ? Soon noticing a thin fog of steam emanating from the young man, Eli mentally banged her head against the wall.

"You said you wanted to talk..." Ace cocked a brow when Eli seemed suddenly very interested by the sight of his boots. "Something's wrong ?"

"Sure, sure, I want to talk but we're soaking wet and all..." she trailed off, finding it surprisingly hard to give a tangible explanation to postpone their discussion. Not to mention that she wasn't really good with long running sentences lately.

Ace was now looking at his feet too, apparently trying to figure out what was absorbing the girl's attention. "It's not really important, is it ?"

Oh yes it was, and apparently, Ace had no idea how important it was for him to be as dry as possible, that steamy bastard...

Sex was easy, tortuously easy, and Eli resented Ace for making it so easy. She wanted him to love her. She knew it now and so the girl wanted to talk with the flame user without being distracted by his alluring features for they always titillated her lust of him. This lust so tightly intertwined with her love. Like a parasite, it polluted the integrity of her feelings; it distracted the girl from her real purpose, luring her with heated prospects at the cost of her keen affection.

A few seconds passed, a minute maybe. Zoro and Sanji's quarrel, the sound of the waves gently rocking the Merry, the cawing of the seagulls fishing in the quiet morning, and all the other sounds seemed to quieten as the thudding of blood in Eli's ears increased exponentially.

"We can change if you want-"

"That'd be _great_ !" Eli said, overly relieved about this change of plan and, as Ace turned to leave, the girl found herself rather preoccupied by her personal hygiene.

"Although we should take a shower first." She blinked rapidly. "We, you and I." Her eyes widened. "But not together I mean..."

_Oh please, please, make it stop..._

"Separately of course..." she finished quietly.

As Eli squeezed her chest tightly, she felt that her heart was throbbing like pneumatic drill inside and so concluded wryly that she was still alive. Mortified, the girl would have wished she wasn't, though.

Ace did not say a thing. Her bangs shielding her eyes, Eli perceived the young man turning around in her direction and standing still beside her. Of course, she would never, _ever,_ dare to look at him and figure out what expression he was wearing. However, she did imagine the possibilities; lewd, mocking, even surprised, none of them were bearable enough.

If she was called 'funny' before, now she should be crowned as Miss Ridicule; the girl who couldn't align four words without ending up making a complete fool of herself.

"You go first," Eli managed to say, stepping away from the doorway.

His feet took a step and stopped right in front of her. Eli stared at his heavy boots trying to make them move with the power of her mind and, at last, a boot lifted again.

"You're cute," Ace said, amusement in his voice.

And he was gone.

The Merry had started its course toward the millennium cumulonimbus, and the waves upon which the little ship was sailing had become increasingly rough. Nami was giving orders to steer in a constant trajectory while Luffy, Usopp and Chopper toyed with the chronicler's south bird. And all the while, Eli was absently looking at the scenery scrolling before her eyes, her nervousness slowly dissipating in the endless ocean.

"Elisabeth~"

Turning her head to the side, Eli couldn't help her eyes from widening at the amazing sight of Sanji gamboling quite gracefully, in slow motion, in her direction. What was that about ? Looking down at her chest, Eli confirmed that her breasts were hidden and, taking a look over her shoulder, she saw no trace of Nami or Robin behind her.

Sanji finally touched the ground in front of the perplex girl. He bowed, a charming smile of his face, and looked deeply through her eyes.

"Why don't you join me for breakfast ?" he offered, his voice extremely suave as he spoke.

"I'd love to !" Eli said cheerfully, before shaking her head rapidly. "Err... I can't. I have to talk to Ace first."

The blonde's charming expression stiffened at the words, causing his nice smile to widen quite frighteningly. Eli tilted her head to the side as she observed the cook's awkward behavior.

"I made you the _chocolate_ cake you love so much," he said through his teeth. "with _a lot _of _creamy_ layers."

"Really?" Eli's mind filled with chocolate and creamy fantasies, her mouth slightly drooling as she did. Ace loved chocolate too... Ace ! A quick mental slap and the girl came back to her senses. "Nonono... Later okay ?"

A squeal escaped the girl's lips as Sanji briskly grabbed her shoulders. "I'll make you some spiced tea too !" he snarled while something akin to rage was burning in his unique blue orb.

Eli froze in his tight hold, her friend seemed so dangerously eager to feed her and she had no idea why. She saw an oar raising high up above his head and, before she could warn him, a loud thud resonated through the air.

Sanji collapsed on the floor and Eli stared at his lifeless body bewilderingly before shifting her gaze to the assailant. "Wh- What the hell ?" she breathed.

"Don't worry," Nami said, a mischievous smile on her face. The red-head threw the oar away, grabbed Eli's shoulders, turned her around, and pushed the puzzled girl toward the door of the storage room. "Go change now."

Looking over her shoulder, Eli gave her dry and salty hair a scratch and sighed in submission. "... Okay."

Her clothing had dried a little, making her breasts now as unnoticeable as ever, yet the wet fabric was very cold and so the chronicler obediently complied since a change of clothes would probably help her getting more comfortable. Eli obviously needed to be freed from any kind of stress if she wanted to face and actually _talk_ to Ace.

As she entered the storage room and walked over to the bedroom's door, her walk came into a stop when the bathroom opened. A thick fog of steam engulfing into the room, Eli's withered hair and skin softened as the vapor enveloped her body.

Ace had apparently finished his shower and, as the fog slowly dissipated, Eli saw the young man walking out of the bathroom, her eyes opening widely, along with her mouth, seeing that _not only_ he was still very wet and steamy but _on top of that_ a nice smell of soap emanated from his glistening and now shirtless body. Where the hell was his shirt ?

"What the _hell_ !" she found herself yelling angrily while quickly clutching her chest again in a protective manner.

"Huh..." The young man looked around questioningly, searching for the source of the girl's sudden wrath. "What ?"

"You, you..." Eli stammered while pointing an accusative finger at the lecherous young man before jerking her arm back over the breasts. "You do it on purpose, don't you ?"

Ace folded his arms over his temptingly naked chest and leaned against the door's frame. "What's wrong with you ?"

_With me ? He's asking what's wrong with ME ?_ Eli couldn't believe her ears; he _had_ to know, he surely knew, it was impossible for him not to know how attractive he was. Yet, she did not utter a word and the grumbles escaping from behind her clenched jaw as she turned to leave were only making Ace more curious about her behavior.

"Hey Eli-" he called and, as the girl kept marching angrily, Ace started to walk behind her. "Tell me !"

She should have left.

Eli took a deep, sharp breath, swirled around and blasted him with a furious glare. "Would you like it if I was _naked_ and _wet_ all the time ?"

Oh yes, she really should have.

Eli died then.

Purely and simply, she died. She stopped breathing and her heart stopped beating, which caused the blood to stop flowing in her veins. Her face turned white and her skin cold. She was deaf to any sound and her glazed eyes were completely blind.

Cold and soundless darkness were her new surroundings, not that she minded.

"Well... maybe not _all the time_..." Ace said.

Her lifeless body started a stride in the direction of the stairs. It performed a stiff curve, opened the bedroom's door and climbed down the staircases. Rigid, her every step had the regularity of a metronome. Her body walked straight forward until her forehead hit the wall of her bedroom with a thud, pain spreading through her skull.

"We have to do something about this mouth of yours," Ace said with amusement.

Eli clenched her fists and raised them, along with her desperate face, toward the ceiling, while her mouth agape screamed soundlessly at the multiple meanings of the words.

"Hey," he said tenderly and Eli could perfectly picture the soft smile on his face.

She felt Ace's hand settling on her small shoulder, warmth gradually spreading from where his palm was.

"I'm dirty," she muttered, sixty percent sure she wasn't talking about her hygiene. "Don't touch me..."

"No you're not," Ace said softly and Eli was ninety percent sure he was.

His fingers squeezed her articulation making Eli quietly whine in agony. She felt dirty, and weak, and dirty again. The girl knew that Ace was far from being a saint himself, but he surely wasn't as a perverted as she was at that moment.

Ever since her brutal epiphany, it seemed that the girl couldn't restraint her mind from wandering in the lustful part of her imagination. Whenever she was with Ace, every word, every movement caused sensual images to flicker through her mind and, as the young man was gently holding her shoulder, Eli kept thinking about how thrilled she would feel if he held her just a tiny bit tighter, pushed his bare chest against her back, whispered taunting things in her ear, kissed her neck hungrily...

Eli squeezed her eyes shut and rolled her forehead from a side to another on the wall, the wood warming up under her heated skin.

No matter how pure her purpose was it always ended up soiled as some part of her mind splashed filthy desires over its integrity. She wanted to be pure though; she wanted to be true, she even wanted to be innocent. A small blond girl with big blue eyes who would Ace tell truthfully that she loved him. He would believe her and even _love_ her.

But Eli wasn't innocent, nor small, and telling her feelings so wholeheartedly wasn't something she could do.

Love called for love, and sadly, lust called for lust.

"I didn't mean to do all those things," she finally said in a surprisingly calm manner. "I didn't know what I did and I ruined everything..."

Eli knew she was being vague, but that was how her mind was; hazy and confused, her thoughts kept jostling in her head, one replaced by an other in a tumultuous whirlwind.

"I hope I never hurt you because..." Eli took a breath to prevent emotion slowly swelling inside of her from overwhelming her entirely. "Because I never meant to."

Ace's hold disappeared from her shoulder. "Hurt...?" He cleared his throat. "When...?" His voice was unnaturally quiet. "No, you didn't hurt me, Eli."

Was he nervous all of a sudden ?

Turning around, she peered at his face and the young man wasn't quite looking at her. Eli felt that he was hiding the truth and this suspicion made her frown.

"You can tell me I-"

"That's not what you wanted to talk about," Grasping his mane, the young man gave his head a scratch before turning his gaze into her eyes. "was it ?"

"No- But I... I..." Eli found herself at a loss for words. She was asking him to be honest when she wasn't particularly truthful either. Her head drooped and her throat tightened within the grasp of her guilt.

A dark mist covered her gradually, all of her hopes and strength dispersed and Eli started to feel it again, her fear. It crept through the thick fog; she could feel its moves all around her. Looming shadows of fear encaging her, the girl was losing herself. What did she want to say ? What was her purpose ?

The hope of a new beginning. Start again, fresh and pure.

"I just.. I just..." Her insides quivered and whined as her dread swelled up from her stomach, it soon touched her heart making its frantic race more and more painful. "I just want to go back..."

A new beginning to try again. To give him love and get his. Erase the lust and wash her soul anew.

"No."

A fresh stab horror in her anxiety. That's how Ace's refusal felt. He was being cold again, cold and harsh, and Eli was bleeding from the inside, her fears ferociously ripping her frail hopes to shreds.

"I don't want to be your friend," he said, making Eli squeeze herself shut as if to ignore the excruciating words. "I want more, Eli... I want to be so much more."

_... What ?_

to be continued

* * *

_What ? What the hell ? What the fuck ? More what ? More _more_ ? Aahhhhh !_

_XD_

_I just LOVE this chapter._  
_The first part with the hands... so sweet ('This Is Your Song' by Ronan Keating)._  
_And then Eli, haha... Oh and Sanji !_

_Well my opinion isn't really important._ _Give me yours ;D_

_An other topic now._  
_I'd like to start a new sidefic and I would need your suggestions (maybe opinions too ?)._  
_Go to my blog (link on my profile) to have all the details._

_See you soon~_


	60. Takeoff

**Chapter 60****  
Takeoff**

_48° angle to the left, straight for 0.8 meter, 87° to the right, straight for 1.2 meters, 46° on the left, twelve staircases to climb on 3.12 meters, a door to open, 137° turn to the left, straight for 4.3 meters, small jump to avoid a wooden box, 3.9 more meters straight, another door, 90° turn on the left, 4.2 meters straight, a jump over the railing-_

"You wanna run away ?"

"No... no... not at all..."

"You sure ?" Ace shifted his weight on one leg, blocking Eli's view of her only route of escape. "Because you look like you want to."

The girl's heart leaped out and back in her chest as her dazed eyes met his. Like a hand gripping on her, they brought her fugitive mind in the storage room, down the stairs, back inside of the girls' dorms, in front of Ace, into her head.

The black-eyed young man lifted his hands to hold her arms and Eli briskly took a step back. For a few seconds, Ace's lifted hands hovered in the air while he stared at the chronicler, grave as his eyes pierced though her. Silence covered the two pirates, and with a deep and long sigh, his arms loosely fell to his sides.

It was a strange sensation, really. Eli didn't want to flee; yet her body yearned for the wind and open air. She didn't want to leave him, yet her mind longed for the thrill of a race. Now looking at her feet, the chronicler clenched a fist to her pained chest.

She didn't want to flee, but her body wanted to _run_.

More than anything, her slender legs wanted to carry the girl wherever they could while her heart would beat at the rhythm of her strides. Her body wanted to feel her hair fluttering wildly, take off the ground and fly. It wanted to run like she always had, along with the wind, light and free.

Her freedom was always Eli's most precious treasure. As long as she could remember, she had always fought for it, and she became a pirate because she wanted to be free. At that moment, however, as the wooden walls surrounding her seemed to get closer, the girl's mind was suffocating, captive within her fear.

The girls' dorms felt so exiguous then, exiguous and _unfamiliar_. It was her bedroom, though, and on her left, just a step away, was her bed. Across from her, against the wall, was the desk she shared with Nami, and she could picture their bookcase as well as the chest of drawers containing her clothes.

It was her bedroom and, somehow, having Ace standing on its floor decayed the usual cozy atmosphere into a dangerous one.

Eli wanted to feel serene, though. She wanted to relish his presence and welcome the man she loved inside of the privacy of her bedroom as well as inside of her heart. But the fear stirring in the very midst of the pleasure she should have felt spoiled any prospect of happiness.

"I'm... sorry..." Eli said, quietly, unable to mouth anything else than this empty apology.

"I don't understand." Ace sighed running a hand through his hair. "How can you be so tricky ? You take my hand and one minute later you want to run away. I'm getting tired of this, Eli."

"I'm sorry-" she repeated almost inaudibly.

"I don't care !" he said a bit loud, his voice vibrating painfully under her skin. "Tell me why you keep pushing me away._ That's_ what I wanna hear."

The sharp words and exasperated tone of his voice felt like blazing pins and needles piercing through her swelling heart and Eli was encaged within her doubts and fears. She breathed febrilely and pushed her fist further into her chest as if to catch her heart with her hand and calm its erratic throbs.

"_I want more, Eli..._"

Ace's words replayed in the girl's head and the air around her grew thinner.

"_I want to be so much more._"

His voice was so loving when the young man had spoken this wishful declaration. Somewhere, hearing it, the chronicler knew that it was what she wanted as well. It was _exactly_ what she wanted. Eli couldn't even have _hoped_ for something as wonderful as these words coming from the mouth of the man she loved. Affectionate and hopeful, they were more than what she ever dared to wish for.

Then why ? Why did she want to run so desperately ?

Instead of feeling like a release, the barb-wired net of words swathed around her while her swelling fear didn't stop expanding throughout her body. It was now titillating the muscles of her legs, making them twitch and tingle. And in her mind, thousands voices were yelling, compelling the girl to snap the tight bonds, break free and _run_.

"I'm scared..." Eli said feverishly over the bewildered screams vibrating inside of her head. "I'm so scared."

"Why ?" A deep breath and the flame user leaned forward, trying to look at the girl's face shielded by her short, untamed hair. "I won't hurt you."

The pledge was sweet and so was Ace's voice. They should have been reassuring, but Eli had no idea what she was afraid of. Him, herself, the uncertain future, the change...? She could feel a danger looming over her and furious cries were desperately trying to make her run away from it.

Even though her wish was within her hand's reach, she wanted to run away from it, feeling that the moment her fingertips would touch her dream, it would wither.

Despite her deplorable state of distress, Eli dared to brave the dangers of the pirate's dark eyes, voicelessly asking help from the man she loved. The young man straightened up as she did. He was half a step away from her and, looking at him, a feeble trace of warmth lit up inside of her heart; Ace was one of the few people that were tall enough for her not to look down on them. Standing face to face, their eyes were almost level.

_It's going to be all right_...

It was faint. It was barely audible among all the screams in her mind, but one single voice was pushing the girl forward. It was like the faint glimmer of a lighthouse in the midst of a raging sea. Eli drew a slight bit of courage from it, enough courage to remain here, to face him.

She would not run.

As her green eyes held firm on his, Eli let her arm fall to her side. She opened her mouth, but the girl had yet to succeed in voicing her faint resolve, and under the young man's unwavering gaze, already, she felt her courage growing weak, her knees too. Squeezing her eyelids shut, Eli swallowed air and tried to hear, once more, the voice that had vanished faster than it came.

"I just want to be with you," Ace said. "Isn't that what you want ?"

His soothing voice reached her rushing mind and Eli opened her eyes again. Ace was gazing at her kindly, comprehensively, as if he already knew the answer, and at this instant, she could hear it again, clearly, just like when she was drowning with him, a warm sensation fluttering inside of her...

Hope.

It arose above all the rest, above the shadows and the screams. It told her that there was nothing to be scared of, that the man standing before her was strong enough for the both of them and, slowly, the dark mist of fears began to disperse.

Her eyes fixed on his, Eli nodded her head shyly.

"Do you want me to touch you ?" Ace asked quietly, sliding the large palm of his hand up along her arm as he spoke.

A shiver ran on her skin at the unexpected touch, but after all, that was what she wanted, that was _all_ she ever needed. His touch, his tender touch and affection, his love...

And again, Eli nodded slowly, feeling Ace's warm skin trailing up her own.

"Do you want me to hold you ?"

His dark eyes were diving into hers, deep inside of her as Ace got closer and settled his hand to her nape while the other rested on her waist, gently. Eli let herself be carried by his familiar warmth as it covered her gradually... tenderly. She was anxious, but the screaming had been hushed, and even if she did not seem to comprehend completely what was happening, she had faith in the hopeful sensation softly growing inside of her, whispering to her over and over, louder and louder, that everything would be alright.

And she had faith in _him_. He wasn't dangerous, he was strong and warm; he was affectionate and protective. At that moment, Eli felt that Ace would never hurt her.

"Do you want me to... _kiss_ you ?"

His voice barely floated to her ears as Eli was completely mesmerized by the depth of his eyes. Raven black reflecting jade green, Ace peered at her, waiting for her answer.

She was ready now. Ready to give him everything as she asked the same from him. A kiss... That was more than she had ever given him. Eli got rid of her virginity without a second thought, but her lips... Her lips were the last thing that she had managed to keep from him, from everyone, because her lips were where her heart stood.

"I'm salty..." she said almost inaudibly, feeling apprehension squeezing her heart tightly.

"I don't care." Ace slowly raised his face and laid a kiss on her forehead.

The contact was so soft that it sedated Eli's mind. Her faint train of thoughts melted away as if dissolved under his warm lips. Hypnotized, the girl searched for Ace's eyes while he kept kissing her face tenderly, her skin gradually going numb with every soft kisses he laid.

Her temples...

Slowly, Eli lifted her hands and splayed her fingers on his bare skin, her pulse throbbing in her fingertips, or was it _his_...?

Her eyes...

The world around them had vanished and Eli was in a place where only she and Ace existed; a secret place where the only sounds heard where those of his breaths and his kisses. She could even hear the soft brushing of his lips on her skin, the rustling of her hair as his fingers caressed her tousled mane.

Her cheeks...

Her jade orbs were following Ace as he wavered from a side of her face to the other, desire thudding exponentially stronger in her lips each time his passed by hers. In her chest, Eli felt her love burning with passion, and it was then, as her insides trembled with excitation, that she understood. Her want of him wasn't a parasite of her sentiment; they were one. Her lust and affection intertwined in perfect harmony; that was what her love for him was.

Every portion of her face extinguished under the ghost of his touch, except for her lips whose sensitivity kept growing as Ace's mouth crept closer from hers. With every last of those soft kisses, without saying a word, Eli's mind heard Ace telling his affection for her, his desire... his _love_.

The corner of her lips...

Eli's body was nothing more than a pair of lips where her heart was throbbing with force. Her body had vanished like everything else. She was his, totally, completely... heart and soul.

Her hard heartbeats came to a stop when she saw Ace licking his lips thoughtfully, for she knew what would happen next. But the young man had a moment of hesitation then. He remained immobile, something warm yet unsure glimmering in his eyes, the young man peered at Eli as if he wanted one last confirmation.

His hot breath was caressing the sensitive skin of her carnal mouth and the girl had no doubts, yet, no matter how much she yearned for that kiss, Eli couldn't find her voice to tell him. The voiceless girl swallowed hard and pushed her lips feebly in his direction, letting her body speak the want she couldn't mouth.

The flame user watched the faint movement of those full lips, and, at last, at _long_ last, he pressed his against hers.

With this kiss, Eli felt her dull self lightening up. Just like her lovely pearl, cold and dead until a warm touch would give a breath of life to it, as Ace's hot lips clung on hers, she felt herself glowing, radiating, while a burning sensation arose from her chest and washed over her to the very tips of her toes.

With this kiss, Eli felt more alive than ever before.

Spellbound by Ace's inky eyes, she heard excitation spring inside of her, yet her lips were inert as the girl was completely dazed by the divine contact. Her heart started pounding again, faster, stronger, while her mind was solely focused on his lips' every slight and delicate move.

The young man was brushing the keen and pristine skin, untouched until then; did he realize how much she was his at that moment ?

Too soon, Ace pulled away with a deep intake of air. He pressed his hot forehead on hers, her bangs softening as they soaked in his warmth; and while the flame user's dark eyes were gazing acutely into her green orbs, the pirate girl was greedily staring at his lips.

At that moment, Eli was but a slave of her want. Her body shaken with want and need, the drumming of her heart caused impatience to shoot up in her enchanted mind; she wanted more.

Infatuated, the girl drifted in his direction to recall the delicious sensation that she already missed, and with this second contact, clumsy and hurried, a low and encouraging groan resonated through Ace's throat.

His half lidded eyes were smoldering as the flame user intensified the delightful movements of his lips. He cradled the back of her head tighter and the pressure on her mouth grew firmer. The hand that was holding her waist moved on her back and gently pulled her closer to him.

His body was hot and, feeling hard flesh and bones pressed against her, Eli thrilled with pleasure. Immersing herself in the moment, she closed her eyes at last. It was so pure, so ravishing...

But that wasn't enough, she wanted more, Eli wanted _everything_.

While her lips moved feebly against his, her delicate hands crept up his bare chest, the pearl she was wearing around her wrist glowing softly as it rolled on the heated skin of the young man. With a long moan, she plunged her slender fingers into his lusciously warm hair. Soaking in the warm silkiness, the girl let her fingertips graze his scalp firmly, liking the sounds her touch aroused from the raven-haired pirate.

They were one. Sharing the same breaths, sharing the same feelings, their hearts pounding against each other's; the two pirates hardly noticed as the Merry was suddenly shaken, making them lose their balance. The lovers slowly fell toward the bed, in the same motion as every item and piece of furniture in the room.

As they roughly hit the mattress, the young man kissed her with more force and so went her heartbeats. Eli was drowning in an ocean of pleasure like never before. His lips, his hot lips, they were fierce, and his arms, his strong arms, she was loosing herself in those arms.

Panting against the young man's mouth, her breaths grew harder as his hot fingertips dug into the skin of her waist. He was holding her tight, so tight, was he afraid that she'd run away ? Slowly parting her eyelids, Eli's eyes instantly met with Ace's, and the sudden rush of energy resulting from that encounter further awakened her intoxicated mind.

It was _Ace,_ and he was kissing _her_ !

_He_, who was her best friend, her crewmate, he was absolutely kissing her. Her, the old friend, the long and skinny, inexperienced, boyish, pirate girl. Fragmented and overflowing were Eli's thoughts. They widened her eyes and benumbed her lips against his.

"Eli...?"

And now he was saying _her name_ with a voice so hot and lecherous that the hoarse whisper floating through her ears made her quiver in his arms. Voiceless, Eli was stiff; did he realize what they were doing ? Was he aware that _he_ was kissing _her_ ? It didn't feel wrong though, rather, it felt fantastically good, but still, it was... highly disturbing.

Softly, Ace sucked Eli's bottom lip, eliciting a soft gasp from the green-eyed girl.

"You want me to stop ?" he ventured.

His mouth still brushing on hers as he spoke, it looked like the young man had forced the words out. There was hesitance in his voice and reluctance in his eyes. He, the arrogant, brave, and strong pirate, he was apprehensive, almost shy, and somehow, that thought cleared the girl's mind.

Ace was kissing her and Eli felt that she was the luckiest girl in the world.

"Never," she murmured, a little smirk on her lips as she pressed them against his.

The flame user's bare restraints seemed to shatter at the sound of her voice. With a groan, his large hand slid along her back; sweat building on her skin upon the path of his fingers, whose temperature increased tremendously. In his eyes, an unambiguous glow smoldered; he wanted her.

Unable to withstand his burning gaze, Eli closed hers, and once again, plunged into bright darkness.

Ace's lips were lavishing hers and the girl followed the motion sluggishly; pressing his bottom lip between hers, caressing her parted mouth on his and, as she brushed his wet and heated skin with her own, Eli felt that it had the most exquisite and intoxicating flavor she had ever tasted.

An entrancing melody of moans and erratic breaths rose from their intertwined bodies as the kisses grew more passionate, and Eli was nothing but a needful body. Yearning for more, a supplicating whine left her throat as she held his raven hair tighter, feeling that she needed those exciting kisses more than she needed to breath. Ace inclined the girl's head to the side and she docilely complied, feeling her heartbeat throbbing and burning between her legs as he opened his mouth against hers and slipped his warm tongue inside. Craving for that thrill, she instantly pushed hers for a divine contact, which sent tremors of delight throughout her lustful body.

It was here, at the peak of her desire, that the sound of someone yelling their names, somehow, managed to reach her ears.

Despite her wide opened eyes, it took Eli a few seconds to grasp what her vision was showing her mind; her arms stretched out, her palms opened, and further, on the other side of the bedroom, Ace sprawled on the remains of the chest of drawers.

_Eh ?_

Apparently she had pummeled the young man away...

"Sor... sorry..." Eli stammered looking at Ace who was rubbing his head with a wincing face. "I... I didn't mean to-"

"ACE ! ELI !" The screaming voice of Luffy was closing in and, hearing the doorknob grating, Eli jumped and ran up the stairs at the speed of light.

"WhatdoyouwantLuffy !" she sputtered in a breath, barely understanding her own words.

"Eli, you gotta come ! It's starting !" Luffy said cheerfully, before looking at the girl, puzzlement on his childish face. "Are you alright ? You're sooooo red !"

"Justwokeup."

Luffy grinned and, without waiting for her approval, grabbed the girl's arm and dragged her briskly out of the enticing bedroom where an even more enticing young man remained. In a reflex, Eli jerked her head over her shoulder at the door, hoping to see Ace appearing, but Ace didn't appear as Luffy kept pulling her until they arrived on the deck.

"Look !" Luffy yelled. "It's like the hugest whirlpool of all time !"

Eli might have mumbled something back since, apparently satisfied, Luffy ran to his favorite spot, the Merry's figurehead.

Dazed, Eli stumbled over to the side of the ship and leaned on the railing wearily to support her jelly legs. Absently, she ran her hands slowly through her bangs. The interruption was so sudden that the girl wasn't sure where she was. Turning around, she looked blankly at the gigantic whirlpool the Merry was in, but her mind was still in the bedroom, she could still feel Ace's lips on hers...

She brought her hand to her face and brushed her fingertips lightly against her lips where his warmth slowly faded away.

A kiss, her very first kiss.

The frantic cries of the pirates barely reached her ears as Eli was obsessed with the recollection of the sublime moment. A colossal sea king came into the corner of her field of vision, yet she didn't see it. Ace's lips were so deliciously warm... Eli closed her eyes feeling all of her skin tingling with excitation, impatient to see him again, to kiss him again.

to be continued

* * *

**Betaed by Fox MC.**

_The sixth month anniversary of this fic was yesterday (23rd of September). Six months since I started this adventure and, from that day, you have been more and more to follow it._

_I didn't plan it, really, I just noticed that yesterday when I was blogging about my revision campaign. I think that it is quite _coincidental_._

_During precisely six months, Eli has been beating around the bush and you read her every move , thought, and feeling. You were annoyed at her ignorance and resistance against her own sentiments for Ace._

_And now, six months later, you witnessed the two lovers' first kiss._

_Obviously, I hope you enjoyed every last of these words. I have been working really hard on those. I started writing it about two months ago and have changed so many things, so many times, that it almost feels like I had written ten versions of this chapter._

_Review please. Review and tell me if your heart beat a little faster. Tell me if you felt the tiny trace of warmth catching you from the screen. Tell me if the world around you was somehow quietened as your eyes glided upon those words._

_As you can see I am very eager to read your reactions (I wish the story could reach the 500 reviews with this one, up to the challenge ?).  
See you soon~_


	61. Flight

**Chapter 61  
****Flight**

Somewhere in Grand Line, a few hours from an island named Jaya, was a wondrous and horrendous whirlpool. Above the rageful sea, a giant and thick cloud was shrouding the light of the morning sun. The day was as dark as a moonless night and the sound of the screaming ocean would have shattered the courage of any experienced pirate.

In the midst of this terrifying nightmare, a little ship was sailing upon the colossal waves. Courageous or utterly insane, its sailors were screaming, releasing their awe and dread in the form of bewildered cries.

A girl among them had her hands tightly clutched on the railing. Her heart was pounding furiously in her chest as she was facing the fiercest sea that she and her crewmates had ever seen. Yet, it wasn't the monstrous whirlpool, nor the darkness cast by the Millennium Cumulonimbus, not even the frantic cries of the pirates that made her heart beat so fast.

Lost in the recollection of her first kiss, the girl was completely unaware of the threatening situation she and her friends were in.

Her windswept hair was fluttering wildly, and so was her mind. Filled with long lost memories and sensations, the whirlpool the Merry was in was nothing compared to the maelstrom occurring in her head.

From the very first time her big, green eyes had met with the freckled teenager to their heated first kiss, Eli remembered it all.

First came Luffy; Luffy and his childish face. The boy had talked to her so naturally and with such familiarity that Eli wasn't quite sure how to react. It was the first time a boy had talked so openly to her. There was no judgment in his eyes, no hate, no disdain. With innocent curiosity, he had simply asked her who she was.

And then came Ace. His charming face, his dark eyes; the teen had looked at the new girl as if she was his equal. He had talked to her and his voice aroused an exciting and unfamiliar sensation inside of her.

She had loved him, from the very first time her eyes set on his face, she had loved him.

_"Freckles... I wish I had some of those."_

That was how it all started.

Ace and his deep dark eyes had made Eli feel so shaken and lost, that, like a complete idiot, she had blabbered the very first thing that had crossed her mind. The girl had let this stupid thought pass through her lips, unable to mouth anything else and, seeing his lovely smile upon hearing the foolish words, she heartily returned the gesture.

It felt good; for the first time of her life, Eli's words didn't incur neither frowns nor critics. For the first time of her life, she felt accepted for who she was. That shinning sensation of freedom aroused by the two boys' sincere smiles washed away her doubts, it washed away her memories and Eli felt that she could start anew.

That was how it all started. Upon her meeting with the two brothers, Eli had become someone else, someone free, she even had a new name. The ghost of her past had dispersed only to be replaced by wonderful friends, who all had become like a family. The happiness she had felt then concealed the darkness in her heart and that was when she became a runaway.

A runaway from her memories, and more dangerously, from her feelings.

Eli encaged herself in the role of the funny girl, rejecting the twisting sensation she felt whenever Ace looked at her. Instead, the girl had found herself acting playfully with him, adoring the smile on his lips to the frowning expression when they bantered together. It was new to her, but again, everything was, and so was she.

"How troublesome to have a careless little brother."

Ace had silently walked his way right next to the girl and, hearing his voice so close to her, Eli's insides trembled. Taking a step closer, his chest brushed against her arm, his unnatural heat gradually enveloping her body.

"Haha, I... I guess... that's better." Her face flushed, Eli was staring in space in front of her. "Who knows what- where we'd be otherwise..." she trailed off with a sheepish laugh.

"Somewhere really nice," Ace whispered, a large smirk on his freckled face.

Apparently, Eli's face _could_ be redder, and she hoped that thanks to the darkness they were in Ace couldn't see it. Her eyes firmly fixed in the distance, she could see him in the corner of her field of vision. The young man had partly covered his previously bare chest with a shirt, of that she was glad, yet, the piece of clothing was of a bright red color, so bright compared to the dull scenery that she forced herself to stare at. Bright he was, his hat, his smile, his clothes, his chiseled chest, his freckles... every bit of him aroused her attention, as if Ace existed only for her eyes to watch.

Ace put his hand on the railing and brushed Eli's skin with his thumb.

So close to him, the girl felt herself shuddering, her skin tingling all over while her insides twisted and turned with the rapid rhythm of her heartbeats. The whole state she was in was overwhelming, painful and exquisite at the same time.

Ever since their reunion there was an aura emanating from him, a small glimmer in his eyes, something intangible making her lose her bearings. And now... Now, it was even worse. Eli wasn't sure where she was anymore, who she was was a rather blurry notion. Her body was shivering and bubbling from the inside; and from the faint contact of his skin on hers, a heat spread throughout her arm, her chest, and her head. She wanted to touch him; she wanted to feel his skin pressed against hers, yet, couldn't make a move.

It had been so long that Eli had tried to be careful. So long that the girl had stubbornly forced herself to call him a friend, even to the point where she had managed to make herself believe that she would never want more from him and that wanting more would be ultimately impossible, as well as terribly dangerous. But slowly, quietly, the young man had made his way into her heart, deeper than anyone. Stealthily, he had become indispensable, and her body had started acting on its own, speaking her want of him without her mind's consent.

Foolish, Eli had ignored the forerunner signs; the embrace they had shared in the winter kingdom, the tender night in the hotel room of Alabasta where Ace had told her about his past, and the affectionate moments that they shared as they grew closer and closer...

Eli had ignored it all, finding them excuses, hiding behind the role of the close friend; and she loved being Ace's friend, it was comforting and protective. The girl thought then that she could have remained his friend forever, while burying her feelings deep inside because what he already gave her was more than she could ever dream of. Her need of being close to him was entirely satisfied with the tender moments they spent together; all alone in the crow's-nest, visiting an island side by side, star gazing all night long...

But then, there was this night; this heated night after the summer festival in Kusai. It wasn't even a night, barely an hour, but after this erotic moment in the hotel room of the small and lovely island, Eli couldn't ignore her want of him anymore. From then on, her repressed desire had kept torturing her. She kept fighting as it was telling her that being a friend wasn't enough, no matter how close they were. It told her that she wanted more, that she _needed_ more, but Eli knew that she couldn't have more and would rather run away than having to face his rejection.

How blind she was...

Ace had wanted her for at least as long as she did. The young man had been gentle and caring, he had shared the secret of his past with her, he had worried for her more than anyone did, he had spent all of his time by her side. Ace had even told her how he felt. Yet, once more, Eli had ignored it all.

"Are you still... afraid ?" Ace asked hesitantly.

Eli shook her head sheepishly, feeling a sting on her pounding heart as soon as she expressed her denial. She _was_ afraid and that was the very reason why she couldn't touch him, no matter how much they both wanted it.

Her head dropped, Eli wanted to hide her face from him, but the sting became sharper.

If his kisses had dispersed her fears, they had not completely disappeared. They were still lingering in the darkness edging into the happiness of the moment, and as Ace was caressing her hand tenderly, Eli focused on the source of her pain.

A little glow... a voice... hers...? It was sad and, gently, it was warning her; Eli had no right to be loved, not him, not anyone. Unfair, oh so unfair, the girl pressed her eyelids together and concentrated all of her attention on the cruel sensation pricking on her guts.

She would hurt _him_.

Taking a deep breath Eli searched her mind for a confirmation, and slowly growing louder and clearer, she felt it in her boiling blood. In the end, she wasn't in danger... _Ace was_, and the threat was none other than the girl who loved him.

What crime had she committed to feel so unworthy of being loved ?

"Eli ?" Ace settled his hand on her curved back, warmth spreading from where his palm was. "Are you alright ?"

"I'm.. yeah.. sorry..." she mumbled.

"Don't run away from me," he whispered. "Okay ?"

Eli clenched her eyelids shut. "I won't, I promise."

It's wasn't empty words, she wouldn't run away from him, never again. Therefore, Eli had to forget, she had to hush these unreasonable doubts. The girl deserved to be loved; she definitely deserved to love as much as anyone else. Those fears were idiotic. They had to be ! They were obviously caused by her inexperience; there was no other possible explanation. No other...

Her eyes set on Ace's hand as he caressed her skin; Eli let his tender warmth suppress her fears. He was strong, stronger than she'd ever be, so how would she even be able to hurt him...?

Slowly, Eli turned in his direction, her fingers leaving the tender touch only to be replaced as the others glided on the wood to settle on his hand. Touching him, watching him felt like a release and, once more, the doubts dispersed. Her jade eyes filled with admiration, desire, and love, she returned his childish smile.

There was nothing to fear, nothing to doubt. Eli was sure of it. She loved him, she had loved him for years and silently, the girl made herself a secret promise; she would never hurt him.

As Eli dived in the dark eyes of the young man, somewhere, a part of her deplored her carelessness before fading away...

"You look happy," Ace said.

The young man lifted his hand to her face and pushed a strand of hair from her eyes, his palm settling on her cheek. Slowly, Eli closed her eyes and wallowed the gentle warmth of the young man as well as the one fluttering inside of her.

"I am," she breathed, while her heart pounded with force and regularity in her chest.

She was happy beyond what could have been expressed, either by her words or the lovely smile that clung to her lips. Opening her eyes, she gazed at the freckled pirates' joyous face, a bright and warm sensation washing over her. At that moment, Eli reckoned that she had never felt such happiness overflowing her heart. With every pulse she loved him more, and silently, Eli reveled in the consuming sensation.

In the mist of the dark nightmare while the ocean and the other Straw Hats were screaming, the two pirates in love were smiling stupidly at each other.

However, in spite of being so deeply unaware of her surroundings, Eli's eyes caught sigh of something passing right before her eyes. Instinctively, her free hand lifted and caught the projectile piercing though the air.

The pain she felt expelled a loud gasp from her mouth as Eli's face snapped around to look at her hand. Blazing metal burning against her pale skin, a bullet was lodged in the flesh of her palm. Searing was the pain and perplexed was her reaction; her eyes blinked a few times, her enamored daze further fading away with each of the rapid flutters.

"What the hell...?" Ace muttered in disbelief.

His eyes widened as he watched the bullet smoking in Eli's injured hand and, like a shot, the two pirates' heads snapped to the side of the ship in search for the shooter. That was when, as they were jerked out of their infatuation, that the lovers noticed how calm the sea had became. The whirlpool had disappeared, but the cries of their other crewmates hadn't lessened. Gathered on the Merry's bow, the pair could hear their confusion as they stared bewilderedly at the seabed. Eli's eyes, however, were stuck on another sight; a huge raft made of gigantic tree logs wound together was coming at them. It had a large sail, sporting a pirate emblem; three skulls and behind them four crossbones.

"TSHAHAHAHA ! I FINALLY CAUGHT YOU STRAW HAT LUFFY !"

Eli recognized instantly the devious laugh, it was the huge and sinister man she had met the day before in Mock Town. Narrowing her eyes, she distinguished the sharpshooter standing next to him. He was obviously the one who shot the bullet. Since his shooting skills were perfect, Eli knew that he had purposely missed her. Did he do that to get her attention ? Still with the same unreadable look on his face, he was staring at the girl. As her fist clenched on the hot bullet, Eli gave him a challenging glare while ignoring the burning pain in her hand.

"WE ARE HERE TO TAKE YOUR ONE-HUNDRED-MILLION-BELI HEAD !" the huge man yelled.

_One hundred... million...?_

Oddly, far from frightened, the pirates were utterly surprised at the number. Apparently their captain's bounty had doubled, probably after the events in Alabasta. Ironically, the marines seemed to have a tricky sense of justice; by saving a whole nation, they gave Luffy a bounty that would attract the whole world's deadliest hunters' attention.

The man held out three posters as a proof. Using his binoculars, Usopp read them out loud; Monkey D. Luffy one hundred million, Portgas D. Ace eighty million, and now Zoro had his wanted poster, Pirate Hunter Zoro sixty million beli.

Hearing each massive amount of their crew's bounty caused an uproar on the Merry; Nami freaking out at the amazing sum, Luffy taunting his older brother, Zoro obviously proud, yet, badass as ever, huffing in disdain while Sanji kept insisting that Usopp watched the man's hands in search for _his_ bounty.

The pirates were so excited that they did not notice how silent the sea had become. The waters began swelling beneath the little ship, causing it to slowly rise into the air, the huge raft growing distant as the Merry soared up.

And then, all of a sudden, a giant water pillar shot them up violently. Raising toward the heavens, so bright it was blinding; this was the knock-up stream.

"Waha ! This is so funny~ !"

The Merry was sailing vertically on the surface of the stream of light and the adventurous Straw Hats were looking upwards, amazed, utterly scared, impatient, or frenzied, they were all focused on their impossible course, sailing up to reach for the clouds, all but two quiet pirates... During her fall, Ace had caught Eli and she was now laying on him, protected in his warm embrace.

"The ship is leaving the stream !"

Her short hair fluttering violently, Eli lifted her face to peer at Ace's, the corners of her lips curling up seeing the young man smiling at her. His warm smile, his boyish freckles, his deep eyes glimmering heartily, Eli adored it all and slowly, quietly, she brought her lips to his.

It was soft, it was simple, but with this kiss the two pirates sealed their fates; there was no turning back now; they were lovers, for better and worse.

And now, while the chaos prevailed all around her, while her crewmates feared for their lives, Eli was smiling stupidly, her green eyes lost in the dark ones that belonged to the man she loved, she was walking on air. The light-hearted girl had no idea where she was walking to and she obviously didn't care, as long as she was with Ace, she would go anywhere.

"Set down the sail ! NOW !"

Eli pulled away and the both of them stood up. A monstrous sea king plummeting next to the Merry, the two pirates exchanged a large grin and Eli jumped on Ace's back playfully. Luffy's ecstatic cries pervading the ship, the lovers were looking upwards, at last, wallowing in the exciting moment together.

"SO COOOOOL ! WE'RE FLYING~ !"

to be continued

* * *

**Betaed by Fox MC.**

_Sorry, this chapter was delayed due to a writer block. I really thought the previous chapter would be welcomed with loads of joyous yells, but no. Oh, well, I hope you are still interested in my story even if the two pirates had their first kiss._

_Now what to say about this chapter...? Mmmh... It is mainly a recap of the past 60 chapters._

_Ah, yes, a part of Eli is still torturing the girl, and now it had became more clear; she's afraid for Ace's safety and running away (like always) from the problem isn't the best course of action, obviously. Let's hope she can manage to unwind the mess of her thoughts and fight her fears once and for all._

_Yet for now, lightheartedly, Eli is reveling in their love and they are going to reach Skypiea in the next chapter._

_See you there._


	62. The Knight Of The Sky

**Chapter 62****  
The Knight Of The Sky**

Luffy's joyous yells, as well as the other sounds, came to a stop at the moment the Merry penetrated the Millennium Cumulonimbus. It was still sailing upwards at an amazing speed through the cloud. No sounds, no air, it felt like the little ship had plunged into the ocean and, as a force was exerted from above them, the pirates collapsed on the floor one by one.

And then came the blinding light of the sun, much brighter than ever before; the Merry had pierced through the ancient cloud. For a few seconds, the ship raised high up into the sky, losing speed with every passing second until it started falling down, fast. With their final breaths, the drained pirates tried to hold onto the first thing that their hands could reach. Eli, being the feather weighted girl she was, floated in the air while holding onto Ace's neck so tightly that strangling noises escaped from the young man's throat until the Merry hit the surface of the Millennium Cumulonimbus.

Lying on the deck, dripping wet and shaken by a coughing fit, Eli was in the same state as the rest of her crewmates.

"Hey !"

Except one, obviously.

"Guys !" Luffy yelled so loudly that his joyous cries managed to reach the chronicler's flooded ears. "Look outside the ship !"

Wearily, the pirates crept toward the nearest railing, their jaws going slack as they recorded the amazing view that met their wide-open eyes. White clouds as far as they could see; it looked like they had landed in a giant bowl of whipped cream.

Eli stood up, using her arms for support, and let her eyes travel around the dream-like scenery. They were on the clouds, floating on the fluffy haze as if it was a sea. As large as the smile on her face was, the chronicler's mind was so dazed that she couldn't find words to express her thoughts.

A puddle at her feet, Eli slowly swirled on her feet until a red drape appeared before her eyes. The girl blinked a few times and, trailing up the soaked piece of fabric, her eyes soon met a hand, an arm, Ace's. The flame user was now shirtless, his head turned to the side, he was handing the girl his shirt. Perplexed, Eli peeked at him from behind the drenched shirt and the young man made a motion enjoining her to take his clothing, now.

"Wear that," he finally muttered, still looking away.

Speechless, Eli took the shirt, and as her fingers came in contact with the wet fabric, she realized; still wearing the same white tank top, her breasts were, once again, showing through the flimsy piece of clothing.

Quickly she turned around and slipped into the red shirt.

"Thanks..." she said quietly, a bright blush comparable to that of the clothing appearing on her cheeks as she buttoned it up.

As her fingers weaved up her chest, Eli felt the burn in her hand and, looking at her palm, the chronicler winced in pain. The girl felt her heart pounding with force where the lesion stood; charred and red, it was slightly swelling. Unfortunately for the chronicler, it was her left hand therefore she had to take care of it if she wanted to be able to write down the discovery of the sky island as comfortably as possible.

Looking around for the ship's doctor, Eli soon found Chopper sitting on the railing while having a discussion with Nami and Robin.

"Lesson one !" Usopp yelled out while taking stupid poses on the Merry's railing. "Captain Usopp will swim !"

As he dove overboard, Eli caught the marksman's ankle, the teen dangled above the fluffy sea while uttering bewildered yells.

"Why did you stop him ?" Luffy asked as the girl brought Usopp back on board.

"This sea has no bottom," Eli said. "You should be careful."

"Good thinking Eli !" Usopp said quickly regaining his previous excitement. "I'll attach myself to a rope."

A face-splitting grin on his face, Luffy ran with all haste to look for a rope and Usopp smirked proudly.

"Whatever..." Eli rolled her eyes and walked over to Chopper.

As soon as she showed her hand to the little doctor, he ran to search for his bag, coming back a few seconds later. The reindeer wore his serious doctor expression on his face as he examined the girl's palm. Gently, he applied a greenish gelatinous solution while prescribing Eli advices about how to take care of the burn for the next few days.

"Ahh the rope is moving !" Luffy said.

"Pull him up !" Ace dove onto the rope and pulled the marksman, a loud shriek running through the air as he broke through the surface of the clouds.

_What the..._

Apparently, the long nosed teen made a quite appetizing bait since a giant sea monster, possessing multiple tentacles, emerged from the clouds a split second after him. Upon seeing the tentacled monster, Nami and Chopper joined Usopp for an ear-tearing scream session, which achieved little more than making Zoro wince in annoyance.

"Nothing to get excited about," the green-haired man said angrily as he dove onto the titan.

No sooner had his blade pierced through the skin of one of the tentacles than a loud explosion burst forth in the air, making Eli's heart jump in shock; it sounded like a giant rubber balloon had blew up. A hand on her chest, the girl looked in disbelief at the bits of skin falling slowly in the air. It seemed that the cloud king's insides were filled with air.

"It is probably the natural evolution of the sea creatures in this environment," Robin said as she observed what remained of the airy beast. "To move freely through the clouds they have to be light as air."

Eli nodded and made mental image of the giant balloon-octopus in her head to draw it later.

"Here Eli," Chopper put his bottle containing the green substance back in his bag as well as the bandages he used to protect the burn. "Be careful, the gel has to remain in contact with the burn to be effective."

A smile on her face, Eli thanked the little doctor and, upon seeing a blush on his cheeks, the girl made a motion to take him in her arms for a hug, only to find herself stunned on the spot; was she allowed to hug Chopper now that... Her eyes traveling around the ship, she soon found Ace eating with his brother. A quick flicker of images appearing in her mind, Eli recorded the latest developments of her relation with Ace while her heart pounded a bit faster. They were together now, therefore, the girl wondered if she could still take her favorite reindeer in her arms like she used to.

Things were different now, they had to be, and obviously some facets of their behavior would change tremendously. Eli had to change, yet she had no idea in what extent.

"Eli," Chopper called, causing the girl's head to turn head in his direction. "Are you going to... hug me ?" he asked somehow shyly.

"I'm not sure..." she said slowly, her arms still hovering around the reindeer.

"Good !" Chopper's face flushed crimson. "Because I never liked that !"

Her heart melting on the spot, the girl closed her arms on her fluffy crewmate and rubbed her cheek on his soft fur while he mumbled empty insults. She wasn't doing anything wrong, and certainly nothing worth calling cheating. Eli deeply loved all of her crewmates; they were like a family to her, her only family. For each of them Eli held a special kind of affection. Yet the most special was, and will always, be reserved to Ace.

Eli felt Chooper freezing in her tight embrace. "Guys..." he called out a frightened expression on his face as he stared in the distance. "There was a ship.. but... it's not here anymore !" His voice rose into a shout as the girl let go of him.

"Where ?" Eli asked, now following his scared stare.

"The-there..." The reindeer pointed his hoof shakily in front on the Merry. "A bull running on the cloud ! It's charging from over there !"

The pirates gathered around Chopper and tried to understand his warnings, and soon Eli saw it, or rather him. A man was wearing a tribal mask and was equipped with a large shield as well as with a long cannon. At great speed, he was coming toward the Merry, _sliding_ upon the clouds. Despite the obvious danger of the situation, the chronicler could help but watch the man's feet with awe and envy. It seemed that he was wearing large shells on his heels. Focusing hard on his movements, the paramecia saw what appeared like a current of air expelled from the shells; smoothly, it propelled the man's feet on the surface of the hazy sea.

Briskly, Eli took a step back as the cloud-slider jumped on the ship.

"What's your problem ?" Sanji yelled out while pushing Eli aside.

"Destroy you all..."

The threat aroused the pirates' rage without delay. Standing before the assailant Sanji, Ace, Luffy and Zoro took a fighting stance. A glare on their faces, they made sure the man understood that this ship was well protected, but the man did not show a sign of withdrawal. Without saying a word he dashed over to the four fighters and, with ease, he knocked them away, one by one.

"Eh ? Wait !" Nami's face was bleached and her voice bordered on a screech. "What's wrong !"

Her wide eyes traveling from one of her crewmates to an other, Eli was in the same state of loss as the navigator. It barely took a few seconds for the assailant to take down their most valiant fighters.

"Sky Island is so scary... Sky Island is so scary..." Usopp whimpering thud in the paramecia's ears and, with every beat, fear further took over her mind.

The cloud-slider jumped high up in the air and landed on the ship's railing. Stunned, Eli's jade eyes stared at him as he grabbed his cannon; he was aiming for the Merry.

Swallowing her fear, she took a step in front of him while holding onto Chopper's arm.

"We are the only ones left Chopper," she whispered through her gritted teeth.

Fear painted across his face, Eli saw the reindeer taking his fighting form on her side. He nodded and the two courageous pirates clenched their fists, the fear that previously glimmered in their eyes replaced by a raging blood-lust.

"You want more ?" the man asked, his voice showing no sign of emotion. "Didn't you get it ? We don't want you here."

Without saying a word, the two pirates dashed onto the man. He swung his leg around and Eli barely avoided the strike. It was then that she noticed with horror that her body wasn't as responsive as it should. Chopper got swept away by the powerful kick and Eli took a chance and aimed for the man's back. But her body was slow and weak... Her opponent blocked the attack easily; he grabbed her ankle and threw her to the other side of the ship.

With a loud gasp, Eli hit the deck and Nami ran over to her friend. The redhead crouched by her side and looked at her friend, dismay distorting her pretty face. Voicelessly, looking at Nami, the paramecia found it hard to breath normally. As if she had exhausted all of her energy, her heart was furiously racing in her chest that now seemed so painfully tight. With every rapid pant, her lungs yearned for more air as if it wasn't enough.

"This is the end," the assailant said, jumping high up in the air.

Weakly, the chronicler lifted her upper body to look at the man.

"This is the end for you !" a voice yelled from above.

A shadow appeared before the sun. Blinded, Eli shielded her eyes in an attempt to understand the shape her blurred vision couldn't record. Tears forming in her burning orbs, she saw large wings.. a bird ? And something was mounting it.

It dove toward the cloud-slider, his attack throwing him directly into the sea.

"What ? Who is it this time ?" Nami yelled, obviously the redhead was at the end of her tether.

The savior landed on the Merry and proudly stood up. A white beard hiding half of his face, he seemed tall and thin, yet it was rather uncertain since he was wearing a dark cape and a heavy armor. The silver metal shining brightly under the light of the sun; he looked like a hero.

"I am a knight of the sky !" His voice was low yet loud and his tone solemn; Eli wondered if she wasn't dreaming now.

A familiar pained groan reaching her ears, the girl scrambled over to Ace. Next to him Luffy was lying on the wooden deck and Sanji and Zoro sat up wearily. On the spot, Nami yelled bewilderingly at her crewmates. Her fear as well as relief shining in her voice, the navigator demanded explanations, but the fighters' hard pants were consistent and they were utterly voiceless.

"That's because the oxygen is scarce here," Robin said.

"Freckles... Are you alright ?" Eli asked quietly, worry reflecting in both her voice and eyes.

Gently, she put her hand on his and, to her surprise, the young man took it back. Looking away, he ran his fingers through his hair and sat up. Eli gazed at the flame user, her worry growing with his silence.

"Why did you stand against him ?" he finally muttered, still averting the girl's gaze.

_What...?_

"You saw how he..." Ace paused as he swallowed air with difficulty. "He wiped us out. Why did you even try ?"

His voice was cold and harsh and Eli was at loss for words. Why ? Why did she stand up against the attacker even though she had obviously no chance ?

"Because I can fight too," she said, surprised to find herself frowning.

Ace was silent again, and as she saw his jaw clenching in annoyance, Eli understood.

"You're so arrogant ! You can't bear to lose a fight, can you ?"

With a huff, Ace stood up and, very decided not to let herself become racked with his childish behavior, Eli turned her attention toward her savior.

"I told you." He was talking to Nami and Chopper. "I am the 'Knight of the Sky' and I suppose you are citizens of the blue seas."

"Yes," Luffy acquiesced.

"This place is seven thousand meters above the blue seas. It is called white sea," the knight said. "Above here lies the white-white sea. Its altitude towers the blue seas over ten thousand meters; average citizens of the blue sea won't be able to stand it."

Strangely, despite his reasonable explanation, Eli felt that her breathing had already become more regular, and, to her side, she noticed that so were those of Zoro and Luffy.

The pirates had many questions to ask to the knight, but the questioning was soon cut short by the man.

"First things first, I need to talk business with you." The knight sat on the upper deck's guardrail. "I would be a freelance mercenary. This is a dangerous part of the sea, those who do not know about aero-battle will be attacked." Looking at his serious face, the pirates silently listened to the knight's words. "Each whistle will cost you fifty million extol, then I will save you."

_Whistle, extol..._ Eli replayed the mysterious words in her mind, soon concluding that the dialect used in Sky Island was a bit different from the one used on the 'blue seas'.

Silent for a few seconds, the pirates tilted their heads to the side, their gazes on the knight becoming more questioning with every flutter of their eyelids.

"What are you talking about, Mister ?" Luffy asked quite innocently.

Recording the extent of the pirates' ignorance, the knight startled before taking a hold of his surprise.

"Don't act like a fool..." he said, embarrassment clearly shown on his face. "If I keep lowering the price I won't be able to earn even one extol !"

"Sky Island is so scary..." Usopp muttered continuously as Eli patted the poor whimpering thing on the shoulder.

"Just what are these _whistle_ and _extol_ things ?'' Sanji asked, not really sure as he pronounced the mysterious words.

"No way..." The knight's eyes widened. "You guys didn't come here through the top of high waist ?"

_Top of high waist...?_ This was getting more and more mysterious, and the pirates' faces displayed quite evidently their lack of understanding.

Soon the knight explained himself; apparently there was another way to access to the sky islands, a 'normal' way. Upon realizing that the dangerous course they had gone through was a useless leap of faith, Nami lost, once more, her nerves and shook her young and reckless captain violently.

"I can't believe you took that monstrous stream..." The knight said, interrupting the redhead's rage fit. "You are brave. The other routes are a gamble with no way to predict how many of a crew will live and reach the destination." Raising his face, the man looked in the distance. "The knock up steam, however, is more like 'either everyone die, or everyone get there together.'"

Slowly he shifted his gaze from one to each of the pirates. "I see those who dare to take that route as great sailors who have both courage and strength."

To these praising words, Usopp seemed jerked out of his prostration. On the spot, the long-nosed teen jumped up, his face displaying an expression of overbearing self-worth, as he boasted proudly about his 'navigation skills' which caused Nami to pinch his cheek in remonstrance.

"One whistle." The knight threw a silver whistle and Eli caught it in the air. Her lips parted in amazement, she slowly opened her palms to gaze at the silvery object which was tinkling quietly. Its brilliant shine reflecting in the jade of her eyes, a bright sensation of reverence washed over the girl. "Blow this whistle once, and I will come down from the skies to help you."

"Wait !" His back facing the crew, the knight was about to leave when Nami called him out, her heel tapped on the wooden deck as she ran in his direction, before slowing down as the savior turned around. "We don't even know your name !"

The knight turned around, his cape flapping into the wind. "I would be Gan Fall, the Knight of the Sky !" To his side his bird chirped. "And I forgot to introduce my partner, Pierre !"

The light of the sun shining brightly behind them, the bird's form changed.

"Even though he's a bird, he has the power of the Wild Horse Fruit." Pierre's claws turned into four slender and muscular legs. "Which means he can become a winged horse !"

Dazed at the beautiful sight of the mount's figure illuminated from behind, the pirates were speechless. In her mind, one name echoed endlessly while Eli eyes widened in awe; Pegasus...

That was until the sight became clearer.

"What the hell..." she muttered.

Polka dots all over his pink plumage, little stupid eyes, large jaws; it looked like a _really_ bad copy of a Pegasus.

Gan Fall mounted his creature, and as they disappeared in the horizon, apathetic and disappointed, the pirates silently watched their saviors taking their leave. With a sigh, Eli rolled her eyes as she realized that, like always, whether it was on the blue seas or in the skies, it seemed that heroes couldn't keep the facade of perfection for too long...

to be continued

* * *

**Betaed by Fox MC.**

_Here we are. Sky Island._

_I'm happy, my blockage is gone, thanks to your heart-warming reviews obviously but also because these chapters are less focused on Eli's emotions, and so, evidently less heavy._

_Ace is being slightly macho, isn't he ? And, obviously, Eli isn't the kind to allow such a discrediting behavior. What a jerk ! (Yet I kinda like this side of him too :P Annoying, proud, and arrogant beyond belief...)_

_Gan Fall was quite cool. I didn't really realize how much until I wrote this chapter. I think I like him more now._

_Well, see you soon (Monday ?) for the next chapter and, once again, thank you for your support. I like you very, __very__ much._

_ps : oh and the shirt thing ! Haha ! How cute 3_

_pps : And Chopper ! I missed the little reindeer... I'm glad I can finally give the rest of the crew some little parts in the lovers' tale._


	63. Taming Attempt : Tenderness

**Chapter 63****  
Taming Attempt : Tenderness**

The unexpected taste burst onto her tongue and Eli couldn't resist the little moan that it aroused from her chest. The flavor and the texture were so new and exquisite that the girl let her eyelids close as the exciting savor ravished her palate. It was as light as air but far from bland, delicate with spicy notes as well as a hint of sweetness; the flesh of the cloud fish was worthy of being called _heavenly_.

"It's delicious Sanji," Eli said dreamily, her green eyes glimmering with a sensuous delight.

"Really surprising," Nami added, a contented smile plastered on her face.

As he was observing the pirate girls savoring his dish with such ravishment, the cook's eyes had long turned into hearts and now, swooning and wriggling, it looked like he was more than satisfied.

"I'll make you some more !" Sanji said, his voice quickly fading away as he gamboled over to the kitchen.

A light, twinkly chuckle and Eli took another bite, not quite believing how good the fish was, no matter how simple the recipe was. Moaning again as the delightful taste slowly spread on her tongue, the girl was surprised when something hit the top of her head. Dazedly, she looked over her shoulder for the source of the blow. Her south bird appeared in her field of vision, his frown making her tilt her head to the side questioningly.

Loudly, the south bird chirped as he pointed her plate with his colorful beak.

"You want some ?" Eli asked, completely turning around to look at the bird.

He nodded and the corners of the pirate girl's lips curled up into a smile. Southy, as she called him, was somehow quite grumpy and so, taking this chance to gain his affection, Eli stood up and put her plate on the guardrail next to him.

With a peck, Southy took a morsel of the dish and gulped it down, a bright blush reddening his feathery cheeks on the spot. The bird took another bite and another, apparently very pleased with his meal. For a moment, Eli gazed at him, the sparkle in his little orbs warming up her heart. The living compass looked so happy that the chronicler decided to leave him the plate, and soon, she returned to her logbook.

Being much closer to the sun and without any clouds above them to shield the sunlight, the temperature was rather elevated. Eli unbuttoned the shirt that Ace that had lend her and exposed her pale skin to the sun, loving how its golden caress warmed her body thoroughly.

The Knight of the Sky had left about an hour ago now, and the pirates were sailing toward a strange formation of clouds that looked like a waterfall. Nami's logpose was still pointing upward, therefore, the Straw Hats were looking for a way to reach the white-white sea.

The cloud-slider hadn't reappeared after their rescue and no other ship were in sight in their creamy surroundings. Their course was smooth and all of the pirates occupied themselves with their usual activities. Sitting on the railing, Luffy, Usopp and Chopper were fishing, providing Sanji with their catches. The ship's cook gamboled from a side to another of the ship, giving a taste of his dishes to the pirate girls and swooning with delight upon hearing their compliments. Nami and Eli were on the ship's bow.; the navigator, comfortably installed in a canvas chair, was reading the newspaper. From where she was sitting, Eli could hear Zoro's regular pants; next to the main mast, the swordsman was training, apparently very determined to help his body adapting to its new environment as quickly as possible.

"Hey."

Ace sat next to the chronicler and the girl wasn't so surprised to find herself sighing. Since their little quarrel, the two pirates had been busy but Eli hadn't quite forgiven his chauvinist reaction. Focusing on the pages of her logbook, she tried to write down the latest events, despite the burn partially incapacitating her hand.

Surely, the young man was aware of Eli's remonstrance. Ace shifted a bit closer, the knuckle of his hand brushing against her exposed thigh, and already, the girl felt her conviction growing weak.

"What are you doing ?" Ace asked, while his skin was almost imperceptibly caressing her own.

His voice was quiet and soothing and Eli tightened her grip on her pen; the pain jerking her out of the soft daze that was taking over her as his warm touch gradually washed over her.

"Writing, obviously," she said and tried to sound as neutral as possible. "I don't want to forget any detail."

"I see... Listen-"

"Elisabeth~"

Like a graceful whirlwind, Sanji appeared in front of the couple, his hands holding a new dish for the girls to taste. Raising her face to look at him, Eli saw the blonde's usual charming face faltering into a frown.

"Are you okay ? Do you want me to clear the filth ?" he asked harshly.

Rustling paper got Eli to look at Nami who was peeking at the cook from behind her newspaper. She saw the redhead rolling her eyes before resuming to her reading.

_Filth...?_ The chronicler turned her head around to look at her plate now being almost emptied by her south bird. Maybe Sanji wasn't so happy to see his cooking ending up in Southy's stomach.

"Oh I'm sorry, Southy wanted to taste your dish," she said sheepishly. "He really likes it !"

For a few seconds, she beamed at the blond, hoping that he would forgive her upon seeing her smile, and soon, her wish was granted. Sanji's frown melted and his blue eye sparkled as he handed the girl yet another plate.

With a sigh, Nami stood up, folded her newspaper several times and put it on her canvas chair.

"Let's go Sanji," the redhead said as she grabbed the blonde's arm and pulled him away.

"Yes Nami~," he said in a singing voice. "Call me if you need anything, Elisabeth."

Eli nodded and Sanji slowly walked away, Nami still pulling the young man. From the distance, she saw that the blond kept an eye on her and Ace until Zoro muttered something to him. From where she was, the girl didn't hear the swordsman's words but his mocking tone was quite unmistakable and the cook's reaction was instantaneous. The faint sound of the two young men's quarrel vaguely reaching her ears, the chronicler's eyes set on her logbook resting on her lap.

"Why don't you go to the crow's-nest ?" Ace asked and gulped a few bites of the girl's dish. "It'll be more peaceful to... _write_."

"I'm good." Eli said, while her eyes glided upon her last words to find again the train of thoughts she had lost upon the flame user's arrival.

"I could come with you," Ace insisted.

The tip of her pet tapping on her bottom lip, the chronicler smiled. "How peaceful that would be then."

"Well... We could _talk_..."

"We can talk here," Eli said her voice showing sings of annoyance at the young man's multiple interruptions while she was now glaring at her page.

"Talk... or something _else_."

"Listen, I'm- OW !" The chronicler's head snapped around to look at her bird as he had hit the top of her head with no apparent reason. "What's _wrong_ with you ?"

She saw Southy rolling his little eyes quite greatly before pointing his beak at Ace and, following his insistent stare, she finally looked at the young man's face; his dark brows furrowed in a little frown, he was rubbing his forehead.

"Oh..." Eli mentally snapped her fingers and felt her cheeks growing a little hotter. "Something _else_..." she repeated quietly, now understanding what Ace meant.

"I can't believe that you're actually more stupid than a bird." Ace sighed deeply which caused Eli to mumble a few indistinct insults.

A soft smile brightened his freckles face as he gazed at the embarrassed girl. His eyes were so sweet, and his invitation so embarrassing, that Eli found herself unable to look directly at him. Her face growing unbearably hotter, her gaze trailed down, the girl's throat tightening when his chiseled chest appeared slowly in her field of vision. Her gaze kept trailing down to finally end its course on the flame user's hand that was caressing tenderly her thigh.

_Oh boy... _Eli's eyes squeezed shut, while her heartbeats accelerated tremendously. The girl was a novice in many domains, but this... _This_ was completely out of her grasp.

"Let's go ?" Ace asked softly, leaning toward her as he spoke.

The chronicler opened her lips several times only to find that her voice was gone. Shyly, she nodded and Ace stood up on the spot.

As a deep sigh escaped her mouth, Eli's tight insides loosened enough for the girl to breath almost normally. Carefully, she placed a bookmark in between her pages and closed her logbook. Taking her time to let her mind's race ease, she put the book in her bag and slipped its strap on her shoulder.

Patiently, Ace was waiting for her, and somehow, his smile, if sweet, felt heavy on her shoulders. If it wasn't enough, soon, Southy started chirping out of impatience and motioned the girl to put an end to her diversion._ Stupid bird..._

The two pirates walked over to the mast and the girl oddly felt that she was being motioned into the lion's jaws. As he walked in front of her, Eli stared at the flame user's bare back; the muscles moving beneath his slightly tanned skin making her mind grow wild.

All gentlemanly, Ace let Eli climb at the rope ladder first... or maybe did he want to make sure she would flee...? The soon to be eaten girl, felt anticipation shoot up in her rushing mind as the crow's-nest was reached far too quickly in her opinion.

She planted her feet on the wooden floor and stared with big eyes in the distance while chewing her bottom lip nervously. In this peaceful and very dream-like scenery, the girl's mind was tempestuous and in her wound up body, her blood was yearning for the rush of a race.

Was that how it was supposed to feel ? Imprisoned, enchained in her own body, her mind was like a wild, scared beast, crying to get unleashed. Above the howls, Eli heard the sound of heavy footsteps drawing near, each thud making her dread throb harder in her chest.

"Eli." Ace placed a hand on her small shoulder and, despite how expected the touch was, the girl startled. "Listen..."

Warmth spread from where his palm was, the gentle flow making the beast grow weak. With a light pull, Eli slowly turned around, her eyes setting on his freckled face. It was warm, just like his voice, just like his touch, and the girl found herself drained from her thoughts as well as the perception of her surroundings. The tempest died out and her body went lax.

"I know you can fight," he said.

Ace took her hands in his and pulled her down. The both of them sat on the wooden floor and his warm fingers left hers, caressing her exposed thigh as they did. Heat flowed from the soft touch to the confines of her pounding desire, making Eli bite her bottom lip out of excitation.

"Its just that..." The young man sighed and gently, he took the shoulder strap of her bag, slid it down her arm, and put it away before shifting his gentle gaze back at her. "I don't want you to worry about me."

"Mmh mmh..." Eli nodded, her green eyes lost in dark ones.

His large fingers curled around her arms. "And I don't want you to be hurt." His thumbs drawing soft circles onto her skin and the girl felt herself shuddering from the inside.

"Okay," she said in a breath while hoping he could just shut up and kiss her already.

"I'm sorry." But Ace kept talking, his face very close to hers, and the only thing Eli could seem to be preoccupied with was the moistness of her lips. "I didn't want to be harsh."

Eli nodded dazedly.

For a moment, it seemed that the young man didn't have anything more to say as he gazed at the girl, somehow, questioningly. The delicious motion of his thumbs in her skin dispersed but the hold was unfazed.

_Kiss me, kiss me, kiss me... _Was the only thing Eli could hear under the warm blanket of silence that covered her and Ace. Her eyelashes fluttered as she closed her eyes and the girl nudged her flushed face in his direction.

For what seemed like a very long moment, the girl remained in this position; her mind floating in warm darkness, her full lips had parted as she yearned for the hot contact his mouth on her. Ace surely understood what she wanted, so why was he making her wait...?

And suddenly, when she least expected it, the hearing of a suppressed laugh got Eli's eyes to snap open. The hold on her arms vanished and Ace's laughter grew louder.

"Good girl !" he said between laughs, tears forming in the corner of his closed eyes.

"Wha- Good GIRL !" Upon hearing the mockery, anger swept over her and Eli swung her clenched fist in his direction and Ace fell on his back to avoid the strike.

She gritted her teeth, the jade of her orbs burning up with hatred as she glared at the young man who was now convulsing on the wooden floor. "You're not the boss of me !"

Oh yes he was... Mortified and offended beyond a bearable degree, Eli felt her blood boiling furiously while her face flushed crimson.

"You-you !" Her clenched fist opened and Eli pointed at him, her stretched out arm shaken by her overflowing rage. "I'm gonna-" Eli was cut short as Ace grabbed her hand and pulled the girl on him.

Released, she tensed both her arms to avoid falling on him entirely.

"... kill you..." she finished in a breath while her face hovered a few centimeters above his.

Ace grinned at the futile and weak threat; it was very obvious now that the young man was aware of the girl's helplessness before him. He looked proud and Eli managed to glare at him. Yet, very inefficient was the angry stare and, vanquished, she let herself fall on him and buried her face in his shoulder.

"You're a jerk..." she muttered against his heated skin.

With a deep intake of air, Ace wrapped his arms around her skinny body. He released his breath in the form of a long and warm sigh that caressed her skin and Eli hated how comfortable she felt in his embrace. It seemed so easy for him, he just had to look at her, smile at her, touch her and she was his. She hated how weak he made her feel and loved him all the more for that very reason.

Bitterly, Eli wished that she could have the same ascendancy on him that he had on her.

Things were quiet for a moment. Ace was caressing the skin of her back and Eli was lulled by the sound of his breaths in her ear until she heard, from afar, Luffy's laugh echoing through the air. This was enough to help the girl focusing on something else that the warm sensation awakened by the flame user's gentle touch.

Slowly, she pulled out of the embrace, crept away toward the crow's-nest's guardrail and searched for her captain. In front of the Merry was a large piece of cloud. Whereas the hazy sea the ship was sailing upon, it seemed thicker, almost solid. Following the sound of the sprightly laughter, Eli's eyes soon met with Luffy's figure; he was bouncing on said cloud along with Usopp.

"Stay with me," Ace said in a seductive manner as he wrapped his arms around the girl's tiny waist.

Without a word, Eli curled her fingers around his wrists, unfolded the embrace, and jumped up on the guardrail.

"LUFFY !" She called out now looking at the teen. "Give me a hand, pleeaase !"

As she towered over Ace, Eli had a smirk on her face and the young man looked, dare she think, piqued. Of course, this was a little more than pleasurable for her.

Luffy's hand appeared to her side, and Eli stuck the tip of her tongue out as she grabbed it. "An eye for an eye, Freckles."

As Luffy retracted his arm, Eli's head snapped in the other direction. She pierced through the air and penetrated the cloud before flying a dozen meters upward. Her body bounced up and down a few times, the jumps losing amplitude each time she touched the cloud. All the while, the girl was roaring with brilliant laughter and, as she finally steadied on the fluffy cloud, her laughs died out slowly.

"It's so nice," Eli said contentedly.

Warm and soft, the girl buried her face in the cloud while Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper's childish giggles filled delightfully her ears.

"Hey !" Nami called out from the Merry. "Try to find a path for the ship !"

Luffy acquiesced and the four cloud-bouncers, gamboled on the soft matter, yelling the directions for the pirates to follow. At last, they arrived in front of a large open space bordered with thick clouds. At the far end of the open area, stood a large gate, and behind it, rising high up in the skies, the waterfall-looking cloud.

The explorers jumped back on the Merry and the pirates sailed over to the mysterious gate. As they got closer they deciphered an inscription that was written on a sign hung above the gate; Heaven's Gate.

"Heaven's Gate..." Robin said quietly.

"It's a bad omen," Usopp said, his voice shaken with fear along with his body. "It's like we're going to die..."

"Maybe we're actually dead already," Zoro said obviously amused.

Yet Usopp did not seem to notice the swordsman mocking tone of voice. The long nose teen slowly turned his head around to look at him, and swallowed with difficulty.

"Already... dead...?" he repeated, cold sweat trailing down his bleached face.

"This would actually explain this strange world." Sanji confirmed.

"Then we are probably about to be judged," Eli added calmly.

"Ju-ju-jugded...?" Usopp stammered while his knees shook so violently that they banged together with an amazing regularity.

"You know, if we did good or wrong during our _previous_ life." Eli nodded and put a hand to her chin thoughtfully. "I wonder how they welcome liars..."

Usopp stunned on the spot, his face going blue; it seemed that he had stopped breathing.

"Heaven is so funny~" Luffy said dazedly.

After a few minutes, the Merry entered the gate, and the pirates observed the inside. It was a large corridor with a curved ceiling giving onto the waterfall. Tall columns supporting the arch from each side rested on some kind of docks.

The grating of a door opening got the attention of the pirates and, as they turned their heads in the direction of the sound, they saw an old woman standing there, an impassible expression on her face. Very small and pale, the wings she wore on her back had the Straw Hats speechless. Maybe they were really in heaven...

"Are you here for sigh-seeing or to fight ?" She was holding a camera and took a picture of each pirate. "Actually it doesn't matter why you're here," the angel added before the pirates could answer her question. "If you want to go up it'll be one billion extol per person."

"Angel !" Luffy exclaimed, his face distorted in horrified awe. "So that's what angel look like...! She looks like a dried sour fruit candy !"

The rude remark caused Ace to laugh loudly before hitting the rubbery boy on the head. "Where are your manners !" And soon, the two brothers wrestled childishly.

Nami cleared her throat repeatedly to get the wrestlers attention, fruitlessly, therefore she kicked the annoying black-haired pirates away and took a few steps in the angel's direction.

"We don't have the money," she said making embarrassed motions with her hands.

"Nami," Eli whispered to the redhead's ear. "We don't even know how much an extol worth in beli, maybe we can pay."

Usopp nodded rapidly his fear-stricken face.

"If you don't have the money..." the wrinkly angel said slowly causing the three plotters to turn their stiff faces around. "You can still go up."

"We want to go, granny !" Luffy said loudly. Looking at the angel, his arms were now tied to the railing and as she spoke he was kicking Ace's face. "Even though we don't have the money, we want to go !"

"As you wish," the woman said.

And just when she had said these words, the Merry was suddenly shaken. The pirates stumbled all over the deck and while they uttered alarmed cries, a pair of pincer appeared at each side of the ship. They grabbed what remained of the wooden wings and the ship elevated a bit above the sea.

"That's the white sea's special speedy shrimp," the old angel explained.

The Straw Hats, grabbed the railing just in time before the shrimp started a frantic race up the waterfall-like cloud. Looking back at the angel, Eli saw a devious smirk appearing on her wrinkled face and as her windswept hair fluttered violently against her face, the chronicler wondered what fate as planned for her and her crewmates in this mysterious heavenly land...

to be continued

* * *

_Taming attempt 1 : failed ! (well it could have worked... Stupid, sexy, arrogant, steamy, freckled jerk...)_

_I love that south bird. It seem that he keeps an eye on the stupid girl and envoys melding with her love affair. Meanwhile, Nami also makes sure Sanji doesn't interfere. The cook obediently comply with the breasty redhead, until Zoro mocks him about how he 'lost' one of 'his' girls._

_They are all very fun; those stupid Straw Hats and now they have a couple among them. At first, I thought it would be strange and very un-One-Piece, but now, when read my own words, I feel that they belong here._

_I hope you liked this chapter, please tell me if you did (or didn't). You know how much I love reading your reactions. Also, I'd like to thank the readers that take time to review even if they don't have an account. Really, thank you very much :)_

_I need some time to revise (or rewrite) older chapters, as well as start my other side-fic so, from now on, I'll update on Mondays and Thursdays. I hope you are not too disappointed !_

_See you soon~_


	64. Taming Attempt : Humor

**Chapter 64  
****Taming Attempt : Humor**

Frantic scratching sounds could be heard from the Merry's bow where the crew's chronicler was. The pain in her hand seemed to have entirely vanished as she used her devilish speed to eagerly draw one of the most amazing sights she had ever seen. Her jade eyes so very wide open, as if to catch all of its magnificence, could barely leave the magical scenery; fluffy, pure and white, with light strokes of greenery, the Sky Island looked liked a dream.

The race aboard the 'speedy shrimp' did not last more than a few minutes and, as soon as the Merry reached the white-white sea, the dream Island was in sight. The ship's navigator estimated it would take about an hour to reach it, and most of the pirates were beyond restless, longing to touch this heaven's soil with their bare feet.

"Hey south bird-"

"It's Southy," Eli corrected, making Ace sigh deeply from behind the girl.

"Hey Southy," the pirate started once again, "Is she still angry ?"

Apparently the young man was resorting to childish stratagems to seek the chroniclers' favor, and _apparently_, it was quite effective since Eli couldn't manage to force down the smile that was shining on the face.

"Aw... so she is," Ace said, a hint of fake deception in his voice. "You have any idea how I could redeem myself, flashy buddy ?"

Her bird chirped rapidly as if to answer the young man.

"Excuse myself ?" Ace asked loudly. "But- Again ? I mean, yeah, of course you're right, _Southy_."

With difficulty, Eli managed to swallow her smile and, with an exaggerated sigh, she rolled her head upward; his forearms resting on the guardrail, Ace was standing above her, a large grin appearing on his freckled face as his dark eyes met with green ones. The chronicler, however, did not share his happiness upon seeing that the flame user was _still_ shirtless. Somehow, it even made her rather angry.

On the spot, Eli leaned forward to grab the shirt Ace had given her a few hours ago, and threw it over her head. The red piece of clothing surprisingly landed on top of the flame user's head; unfortunate that the girl wasn't looking at him to notice how her slinging had reached its target, for once.

"Just... wear this already..." Eli sighed and slammed her logbook to a close on her lap, very aware that she wouldn't be able to write or draw anything more as long as Ace was dawdling around.

"Are you kidding ?" Ace jumped next to her, his red shirt still hanging from his hand. "I wouldn't miss your blushing face for anything in the world."

With his childish laugh, Eli frowned while her angry eyes focused on the jolly roger carved in the leather cover of her logbook. Why did he have to be such a jerk after being so sweet..? Apparently, Ace wouldn't let that go, and why would he ? If the girl had such an ascendancy of him, she wouldn't miss a chance to annoy the hell out of him, without respite, day in and day out.

In the corner of her eye, the red shirt was moving tauntingly, its flutters accompanying the flame user's convulsive laughs, and that was how Eli recalled _what_ got the chesty young man shirtless in the first place.

A little smirk sneaked up to her lips and the girl dropped her head to conceal her devious scheme from the deliciously ignorant standing above her. This was going to be fun, yet she had to be extremely focused for her act to be perfect, because if she was to make the slightest mistake, the repercussions could wind up disastrous for her.

Swallowing back her smirk along with a large quantity of air, Eli stood up as the flame user's laughing fit finally died out. She let a deep, _deep_ sigh flow from her lips and walked over to the railing. A hand in her windswept hair, she gazed at the sea with a lazy glimmer in her half lidded eyes.

"Twig ?" Ace called out as he walked over to the girl.

"It's so hot here..." she said in a breath.

"Uh..." Ace uttered stupidly, before leaning over her with a very lewd smirk on his freckled face. "Are you talking about me ?"

It was so easy to get him to rise to the bait that Eli had to bite her tongue to prevent any laughs or even a smile on her face.

"Maybe I could take a dive..." She said quietly as she shifted her gaze right below her. "The bottom doesn't seem so far."

"I don't think that's a good idea..."

Eli sighed wearily and slowly rolled her head around to look at Ace. "I don't have a swimsuit but it's okay... right ?"

His eyes were quite wide as Ace stared speechlessly at the girl's act. "You wouldn't dare..." he muttered.

"But I'm so hot..." she said in a lascivious tone of voice. "And _sweaty_..."

It wasn't the first time Eli pulled a seductive act. She had done it multiple times to mock Sanji's lechery, but never had she dared to play this card with Ace before. Witty remarks was all she could do. And so, as she looked at the young man's face, his wide bewildered eyes, his jaw that had gone slack, the tease seemed to be taken aback. She would have expected him to talk or at least grumble, frown, maybe even laugh, but Ace looked seriously shaken by her teasing behavior.

He knew she was playing, right ? So why didn't he join the fun like he always did ?

With a long, exaggerated moan, Eli stretched her shoulders upward which caused a strap of her tank top to slide down on her arm. "I wanna get _wet..._" she whispered teasingly, so teasingly, in fact, that she had assumed Ace would finally laugh at her.

But Ace didn't laugh, at all. His face drooped, he briskly grabbed the girl's shoulders and quickly put the loose strap back where it should be. Looking at their feet, the young man was voiceless...

Things were still for a moment, until a brilliant sensation washed over her... Oh happiness ! It overflowed her from the inside and, as Eli saw a light blush making its way to the freckled cheeks of her arrogant love interest, she burst in laughter.

"You lost !" The tease jumped away, Ace's arms falling loosely to his sides. "_Sucker_ !" she said loudly while making a little victory dance under the flame user's dull face.

"You..." Ace muttered, although never managed to finish his sentence. The young man rubbed his face vigorously.

"One point for the Twig," Eli said proudly. "Now if you'll excuse me, dear challenger, I have to change."

With a joyous gait, she walked past him and came to a stop right behind the young man.

"Gonna get naked~" she murmured from behind him.

Ace swirled around, his dark eyes burning with rage, it seemed that the girl had took her revenge a bit too far. With a gasp, the young man tried to grab the girl who dashed away while chuckling childishly.

"Come back !" he yelled from afar; Eli couldn't help the grin on her face until she closed the door of the storage room behind her.

The grin that had been plastered to her face instantly vanished and Eli brought a hand to her chest where her heart pounded furiously. It had never occurred to the skinny girl that Ace would actually _desire_ her; not with this body, not with this face, not with her obvious lack of experience. Although she should have known, it had never really ticked in her mind and, in the midst of the pleasurable and very obvious discovery, something akin to fear lingered... anxiety.

Eli had no idea how to deal with that.

A deep sigh escaped the tensed chest and Eli crouched to open the girl's dorms' hatch. Nami's angry mutters reached her ears and the girl startled. Stealthily, she took a peek through the stairs' guardrail to see what was causing the redhead anger _this time_. Her green eyes widened as they traveled around the bedroom; books and clothes among other various items all over, the girl recalled that she had broken the chest of drawers a little while ago. Ever since that 'accident', the Merry had been shaken in every direction, and so the girl's clothing ended up scattered all around.

With a large intake of air, Eli gathered her courage, stood up, and walked down the stairs, her palm warming with friction as her clenched hand slide down the wood of the guardrail.

"What happened there !" she said bewilderingly, as she planted her feet on the floor.

"Apparently our chest of drawers had broken during our flight," Robin said calmly, her arms folded, one of her hand made a light circling motion.

"My clothes, my beauties..." Nami whimpered, causing Eli to bite her bottom lip guiltily.

It was her fault, or Luffy's, maybe Ace's...but more likely hers, yet, the girl wasn't ready to jump in the lion jaws and confess to the redhead. She cared too much for her life. However, if she couldn't admit her fault, she could, at least, lessen the damages. On the spot, the girl, accelerated her whole self and dashed around the room at an amazing speed that caused the women's hair to flutter violently. Efficiently, the paramecia picked all the pieces of clothing; from the ones hanging on the ceiling's light to the ones laying on the floor and made three stacks: one for her, one for Nami, and one for Robin. It took her less than ten seconds and the redhead's joy brightened her pretty face again, lessening the weight of her guilt on the chronicler's heart.

The three pirate girls changed their outfits, choosing ones more fitted for a relaxing vacation on the heavenly beach. Nami wore a bikini top that would certainly please the ship's cook, and long shorts. Robin preferred a flowery patterned tank top and low waisted jeans. As for Eli, she put on a strapless two piece swimsuit and short dungarees.

As her eyes travelled from one of her crewmate to the other, Eli's face went blah. They were so breasty and she was so... _flat_. Flat and dull, dull and plain, plain and skinny... The chronicler's face drooped and Eli's empty eyes fell on the pearl attached to her wrist. Wryly, she smiled while wondering what Ace could find attractive in her. As she looked at the cold and white orb, the little teasing act she had performed a few minutes ago now seemed extremely stupid, stupid and meaningless, meaningless and ridiculous, ridiculous and embarrassing...

"Where is it...? Damn !"

Eli rose her face listlessly and watched Nami walking around in the bedroom, she was pushing and throwing every object that stood in her way, a frown appearing, and furrowing quickly on her face. A single shoe in her hand, the chronicler guessed that the redhead was looking for its pair. With a sigh, the depressed bean-pole let herself fall on her stomach and investigated under her bed. An impossible mess prevailing under the mattress, the girl pulled books, clothes, a bag, several pens, more clothes and, at last, she saw a shoe. A smile on her face, she stretched her long arms to reach it, sticking the tip of her tongue out the corner of her lips as her fingertips brushed against its leather.

"A tattoo...?"

The voice came from above her, and as Eli slowly raised her face, Nami and Robin leaned toward her, appeared in her field of vision.

"Mmh ?" Eli returned their questioning stares and gave Nami the missing shoe.

"Thanks." The redhead crouched to put her shoes on. "I had no idea you had a tattoo here, it's so small."

"Ah !" Eli rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "Yeah..." To her surprise, she found herself rather embarrassed.

"A six pointed black star," Robin said quietly, her deep eyes piercing through those of the girl. "That's... _unusual_."

"Erm, yeah..." There was nothing to be embarrassed with, even if the only persons who had seen her tattoo before were the two men she fell in love with... Eli cleared her throat along with her mind and let her hands fall on her tights, her fingers caressing her skin nervously. "Each point represent a power of a martial art originated from my mother country."

The archeologist's face froze for a second, with wide eyes she stared at the girl. "Are you from Suta ?"

This name... this cursed name and the penetrating gaze of the raven haired woman clawed fiercely on Eli's guts. Suta... No one was supposed to speak that name ! Frozen, the girl felt herself being drawn to a dark, bottomless pit. It had been years since she had heard that name, it had been years since she had _formed_ that name in her mind.

The chronicler clenched her fists, nails digging in her burn, the sharp pain managed to drag the dazed girl out of the sharp coldness swelling in her head. It cleared her thoughts, and upon regaining control of her mind, Eli stared at the archaeologist, despair lingering with a question in her heated mind. Did she know something ?

"How do you know this name ?" Eli's fingers splayed and clutched on her bedding while her heart pounded with force in her chest.

"I did some researches, that's how I leaned about the..." Robin cut herself short and turned her head around to look at Nami.

Embarrassed, the redhead was trying to make herself as unnoticeable as possible. Slowly, she made motion to excuse herself and tiptoed in direction of the staircases.

"You can talk," Eli said, the serious tone of her voice washing Nami's awkward expression away.

"That's how I learned about the massacre."

_Massacre..._ The dreadful word echoed in Eli's mind and voices arose. The voices of her people, the voices of her family, the voice of a whole country that was only surviving in the mind of the last of their children... A quick flicker of loathsome images caused her stomach to tighten, a slight sensation of nausea taking over the girl with the recollection of the worst stench she had ever smelled; hundreds of putrefied bodies scattered all over the soil of her motherland.

All the things she owned seemed so eager to slip from her grasp then; her life, her reason, her dreams, her friends... her friends. Eli wasn't alone anymore, she had people who cared for her, and she cared for them even more than her own life. They were the light that shone on her path, they were the signs that pointed the way.

"I thought all of the star-children were dead," Robin said, her voice showing no sign of emotion.

"I am the only one left."

The reply had came naturally, almost carelessly, and the two women were looking at each other deeply. Upon that revelation, Eli saw something in Robin's eyes. It wasn't shock, not even pity, it was something warm and deep, something sad and understanding... And as she dove into her dark blue orbs, the last of the star-children felt that the mysterious woman knew how it felt to be the last remain of a nation that had died.

"Eli..." Nami called out, sadness shining in her faint voice. "I had no idea... I'm sorry."

"Don't worry Nami, we all have our secrets," she said gazing intensely at Robin. "And it's not me anymore." With a sigh, Eli stood up. "Luffy and Ace... They gave me another life."

A soft smile made its way to the redhead's lips upon those words. "I know what you mean."

Silently, Robin, walked over to the staircases.

"Robin... They don't know..." Eli said, somehow, pleadingly.

The woman came to a stop, her back facing her two crewmates. "Don't worry, I wont tell them."

The archeologist climbed up the stairs and Eli gazed at the woman's feline gait. If she had lived through the same hell as she had, the green-eyed girl hoped that she had the chance to find someone half as wonderful as the two black-haired brothers to help her. But, somehow, the chronicler already knew the answer. The desire for death, the loneliness in her eyes... She had seen the same in the green eyes of a stargazer.

"You want me to stay ?" Nami offered warmly, making the chronicler shift her gaze to the redhead.

During a little moment of silence, Eli found herself rather uncomfortable under her friends gentle gaze. It wasn't the Nami she knew, it wasn't the Nami she loved. Worry didn't suit her big auburn eyes.

"No that's okay, you can go," she said, forcing a little smile on her lips.

"And Eli," The navigator took a few steps before turning around. "You're very pretty."

"And you're smoking hot, Nami."

A bright grin on her face, the redhead nodded and walked out of the bedroom.

As the metallic sound of the hatch's latch reached her ears, Eli felt weariness overcome her strong act. The girl let her body fall on her mattress along with the tears that had been so eager to spill as soon as the loathsome memory touched her mind with its cold fingertips.

Eli squeezed her eyes shut, tears still forming on her eyelashes before falling on her white sheets.

Why did she have to remember ? Couldn't she just live her life freely ? The Sutan girl had long chose to leave her past behind, she had renounced her birth and started her life anew. Her memories, however, never entirely vanished. They were biding their time, patiently, until an opening appeared for them to leek inside of the girl's mind.

Why did it have to be so painful ? It had all happened more than six years ago now. Wasn't that long enough ? And as the girl rubbed her eyes with force, she wondered how much longer she would have to bear the weight of her past on her frail shoulders...

Slowly, she opened her eyes and her bag appeared in her blurry field of vision. Eli sniffled and grabbed its strap. A sharp sensation arose from her chest, and the girl found herself frenzied as she searched the bottom for a secret pocket. She roughly threw away all of her belongings and, at last, the pain dissolved as she found _it_. Her fingertips came in contact with a little cotton pouch hidden for so long that the Sutan girl had almost forgotten its presence so near to her.

Nothingness spread over her as she held the pouch in her hand. Eli slid its small string, and, with a delicateness that was very unfamiliar, she let it's content fall into the palm of her hand.

Two silver badges, and in their metal, names were carved.

Eli's fingertip caressed the cold letters absently. The name of her father, his rank and, with this faint touch all of his pride, his love, his force glowed in the jade of her eyes that she shared with the man who raised her. The other badge, however, tainted the feeble warmth with sorrow.

_Etowaru... _

Time had passed, months and years. Like the regular motion of the waves crashing on the sand relentlessly, the memories of her love had been gradually washed away within those years. The young man would remain eternal, but Eli had changed. He was now shining in the midst of the bright lights twinkling in the black and endless canopy of the sky, while the girl kept walking her way among the living. Long and tortuous was the path she walked upon, but she wasn't alone.

Her love for the Sutan soldier had dissolved, and Eli fell in love again.

Eli put her father's badge in the pouch and kept Etowaru's in the palm of her hand, the cold metal slowly warming in the confines of her hold. She knew she had to tell Ace. Like he did, she had to reveal the tale of the last children of Suta to the man she loved.

to be continued

* * *

**Betaed by Fox MC.**

_I knew it ! You got your long awaited kiss and now you're leaving me T.T_

_Oh and just a little note; Ace doesn't really try to tame Eli. He is pretty natural with her (maybe too much). But I liked the title, and somehow, when he's being nice, Eli's wild nature is tamed by his charms. Too bad (for him) he's acting like a jerk in the end._

_Next update on Monday._


	65. Taming Attempt : Kidnapping

**Chapter 65  
****Taming Attempt : Kidnapping**

A warm breeze swept over her as the girl opened the door of the storage room. She took a step outside and lifted a hand to her face, shielding her green eyes from the blinding light cast by the daystar upon the white, immaculate scenery.

Gradually, Eli got accustomed to her blinding surroundings and walked on the deck. All around her, the youngest pirates' excitation pervaded as the Merry was now very near to the dream island. Luffy was yelling how fluffy-fluffy the beach looked, almost drooling at the dreamlike sight. The young captain ran to Eli as soon as he saw her to share his joy, telling that his nostrils could smell the 'adventure', but in her mind, one and only one thought echoed; she had to find Ace and tell him about her past. In her hand, as Etowaru's silver badge was digging in her skin, the faint pain resulting from the tight hold made sure that the girl wouldn't fail her purpose.

Lightly patting his head, she gave Luffy a grin before shifting her gaze around to find the flame user. Chopper's round and big eyes were sparkling with enthusiasm, Usopp wore face-splitting grin, and even Zoro's grumpy nature seemed to be softened by the enchanting scenery.

A loud gasp burst out of Eli's lips as a tight grip captured her waist. Her field of vision whirled and the girl found herself thrown over a large shoulder, _his_ shoulder.

"Ace !" Eli wriggled around and tried to look at the young man's face. "Just what are you doing ?"

"You've been a really bad girl," he said quite mischievously. "I'll have to punish you."

The lewd threat caused a blush to redden Eli's face and Ace started walking, or rather _dashing_ away. Atop of his shoulder the girl was barely keeping her balance, she grabbed his shirt with her free hand, the thing that was occupying the other reminding her of the thoughts that had previously dwelt in her mind.

"Ace..." Her grip on the fabric of his shirt tightened as a little sensation of distress stirred inside of her guts. "We need to talk."

"I don't think so."

Ace jumped on his raft, water splashing around them as the Striker sunk into the hazy sea before soaring up just as briskly.

"It's _really_ important," Eli insisted.

There was a moment silence then. The girl was still on Ace's shoulder, her limbs brushing against his chest and back, and Eli had no idea what kind of expression the voiceless pirate was wearing. She could have started talking already, the silver badge lodged in the palm of her hand was _urging_ her to do so, but the Sutan girl wanted to see him, she had to see his eyes when she would told him her story. Furthermore, the stupid position she was in came hardly in the list of the comfortable ones prescribed for such a difficult and serious discussion.

"What the hell..." Ace muttered, his hold on Eli's waist tightening.

Surprised, the abductee tried to adjust her body to look at him without success. With a sigh, she let herself slump heavily on his shoulder, her eyes falling on a rather mysterious sight; the flame user's boots planted in the main seat of the raft were very _fireless_.

Eli tilted her face to the side questioningly as she saw a faint flame appearing. For a few seconds, it flickered rapidly and vanished while Ace uttered a loud groan.

"Are you aware that you'd need a little more than this-"

"I know Eli !" Ace roared angrily. His large hands grabbed her waist and the flame user set the girl in front of him before shifting his gaze back to his feet. "Just wait for a bit," he said, annoyance sharpening the warmth of his voice.

For a moment, Eli watched the flameless flame user. He was still, very still, his head leaned downwards, Ace was observing his boots. As angry growls left his mouth, the girl thought that she wouldn't be so surprised if his orbs ignited before his feet.

Somehow, Eli could understand Ace's anger. Ever since they had reached the Sky Island, things did not really gone as expected for him. First, he was knocked out by the first sky-lander the pirates met, and now his powers seemed to escape his control. Not to mention that the pirate girl hadn't been showing extensive understanding toward him lately.

As a sting of guilt bit on her heart, Eli's full lips mowed thoughtfully. Maybe she could try to be nicer... Or at least let him sulk for a while.

Satisfied with her good resolution, the chronicler put her bag on the raft and motioned to walk past him. Yet, Ace was very large and the Striker very narrow. She came to a stop just in front of him and shifted her weight from a leg to an other, carefully analyzing the best route to chose.

"What ?" Ace asked, his eyes still focused on his boots, Eli saw the muscles of his arms tightening.

"I just..." The girl pursed her lips, the flesh going tender with the pressure, and lifted a hand to his shoulder. In a moment of hesitation that she decided very unnatural and quite annoying, Eli grabbed his arm, swayed slowly over the sea, and perched behind the young man. "Thank you."

Eli wrapped her arms around the small mast and stretched on her toes to scan the Merry's deck.

"Zoro !" she called out upon seeing the swordsman. "Release Southy please !"

"Southy..." the green-haired swordsman muttered while rolling his eyes before turning around.

Loud chirps, very unique to her bird, made the girl smile. The south bird flew in her direction and she reached out her hand for him to land.

"You came to say goodbye ?" The bird nodded vaguely while looking away and Eli kissed his beak. "Thank you for helping us."

Southy huffed and rolled his eyes further away as if he didn't care. However, the bright blush reddening his feathers was quite impossible to miss and it caused Eli to chuckle lightheartedly. Apart from Chopper, the south bird was the very first animal that seemed to accept her presence and affection. Having him leaving her so soon caused an embrace of grief to tighten on her heart.

"I hope you'll enjoy it here," she said, her smile weakening on her lips. "But if you want to go back on Jaya, you just need to tell us, okay ?"

A hint of emotion seemed to glimmer in his eyes, as the bird's orbs moistened rapidly. Southy rubbed his wings on his face and gave a loud and proud chirp that eased the girl's sorrow. Eli gave him, yet another kiss and the bird took off. As his flashy figure disappeared in the distance, the flapping sounds of his flight rapidly faded.

"Elisabeth~" Eli shifted her gaze back to the Merry, her eyes meeting with Sanji. "Why don't you stay with us ?" he asked.

"I have no idea." She shrugged.

"What's wrong cowboy ?" Sanji was now peeking at Ace from behind the girl. "Got a problem with your little raft ?"

Ace mumbled a few rash words that got Eli's attention. "Maybe it's because of the lack of oxygen..." she said quietly.

"I figured that out, thank you."

With the high altitude the air was scarce. This was a fact. It was also a fact that fire fed on oxygen, and so, without oxygen, the flame user's powers were evidently weakened.

Time passed and as the striker remained motionless, the Merry gradually grew distant. Eli told her crewmates that she and Ace were going to be exploring a bit, but this was apparently unnecessary since Luffy was already aware of the two pirates' elopement. A large grin plastered on his face he waved at the two pirates.

Eli sat in front of Ace and sighed as she watched the Merry docking on the shore in the distance. It was so close but, since the obstinate flame user refused categorically to use his raft's sail, the couple was stuck in the middle of the hazy sea while their crewmates were probably enjoying themselves on the dream beach.

With another sigh, Eli carefully opened her hand and gazed at the silver badge in her palm. The name of the man to whom it used to belong shone in her mind and squeezed around her heart. Maybe it wasn't the best time to talk... or maybe it was just an excuse for the girl to postpone the difficult discussion. In any case, her resolve had long dispersed. The Sutan girl put the badge in the pocket of her dungarees.

"Are you sure you-" Eli cut herself short as Ace's face snapped in her direction, the glare that was darkening his face making her feel very much unwanted. "I can leave if you want... I'll run to the beach," she said.

It wasn't a threat, nor an ultimatum, Eli just wanted to enjoy herself and being stuck with a very grumpy Ace wasn't what one could consider as a nice and relaxing vacation in the heavens.

"Just..." Ace took a deep intake of air and crouched in front of her. He breathed out and took the girl's hands in his. "Just wait," he said, and Eli wasn't quite sure if he was forcing the softness of his voice or not. "I'm getting the hang of it."

After giving her a quick peck on the forehead, the flame user returned to his previous position in the Striker's main seat and Eli smiled upon seeing little flames arising from his, now bare, feet.

Wearily, she slumped down and let her fingers caress the surface of the hazy sea. It was warm and felt a bit like the foam of a bath. Everything was so quiet around her, Ace's grumbles had died out and, on this wave-less sea, a soft and comfortable silence prevailed. Her green eyes gradually came to a close as Eli could only hear her soft breaths and her regular heartbeats. The skin of her fingertips soaking in the little bubbles of this heaven's sea, the girl felt herself floating, quietly growing distant from Ace, his Striker, and the Sky Island.

* * *

_It was night outside and, as all the sounds in her house had finally died out, Eli reckoned that her father must have gone to bed, at last. The excitement that hadn't left her from the moment she had gone to bed, got her to throw her sheets aside briskly. She planted her feet on the floor and tiptoed toward her window._

_Looking up at the stars, Eli let a little smirk brighten her childish face; even if they could see her, there was no way her ancestors could tell anyone what the mischievous girl was planning._

_Carefully, she slipped out of the window, jumped down on the grass and started walking slowly toward the next-door house. Looking at the windows, the girl didn't see any light shed from the openings, but it wasn't like it mattered anyway._

_With the great ease that could only result from long time experience, Eli climbed up a tree, and crept on the branch that was almost touching the window she was aiming for. Fortunately, it was open, but it wasn't unusual, the average temperature on Suta was rather elevated and, during summer nights like this one, everyone was to keep their windows open to welcome a fresh breeze inside._

"_Towa," Eli called out in a whisper. "Are you asleep ?"_

_The girl chuckled as a little groan made its way to her ears. Her hands grabbed the window's sill and Eli slipped inside of the bedroom. For a few seconds she stood still, letting her memories recollect the furniture's' arrangement in the dark room and took a few steps in direction of the bed._

"_Towaaaa..."_

_Light rustling sounds of stirring sheets were heard as she saw a shadow moving on the bed._

"_Lizzie ?" Etowaru said groggily, sitting up as he spoke. "What..." He yawed. "What are you doing here ?"_

_Her orbs were gradually adapting to the darkness, and soon, Eli saw his figure with more clarity. The young man was rubbing his eyes as other yawn escaped his lips. A smile plastered on hers, the girl walked to the bed and dug a knee in the bedding, the mattress bending feebly under her feather weigh. Slowly, she lifted her other leg and sat on her feet next to the young man._

"_You know you can't sleep here," he said, a hand in his raven hair. "You are too old now... and I'm even older."_

_His scold made the fourteen-year-old smile and she let herself fall on her side. Etowaru turned around rested a hand on the mattress. The moon cast its faint silver rays on his delicate figure causing the pale skin of his bare upper body to glow softly. The girl's green eyes couldn't leave this enchanting sight._

"_You know what people-"_

"_When did I care about that ?" Eli interrupted. "Plus, I got their stupid tattoo already, I think I was obedient enough for a _whooole_ century."_

_A soft smile appeared on his face and the young man fell on his back, happiness washing over the girl on the spot._

"_You want to see it ?" she asked, causing Etowaru to roll his head in her direction. "It's hidden."_

"_I see, you got the tattoo but you hid it." A sigh. "So obedient of you."_

"_I only want _you_ to see it," Eli said._

_The young man's dark eyes widened upon those words and the fourteen-year-old didn't seem to understand why. He rolled his head upward and stared at the ceiling. Eli didn't make a sound when she saw him resting a hand on his forehead, but she would swear he looked rather annoyed._

"_Lizzie..." he breathed quietly._

"_What ?"_

"_I'm eighteen, you're thirteen-"_

"_Fourteen !" Eli said angrily, her muscles tensing up. "It was my birthday only a week ago, did you forget ?"_

_Etowaru covered his face with both his hands and let out, yet, another sigh._

"_That's why I got the stupid tattoo in the first place," she pouted. "Come on, let me show you."_

_Not waiting for his approval, Eli rolled on her other side and grabbed her long and tousled mane. Pushing it aside, she revealed a little black star imprinted on the pale skin of her delicate nape._

_It felt so intimate then. The warm summer breeze sweeping in the dark bedroom, the soft flutter on the dark curtains, and the gentle silvery light of the moon; Eli was aware of all of her surroundings much keener than ever before. She could hear the young man's every breath, her pounding heart and the rustle of cloth as Etowaru got closer._

"_Can you see it ?" she asked._

_Etowaru made a quiet affirmative sound, and a shiver raced under Eli's skin as she felt the sheets moving against her arm._

_The fourteen-year-old did not understand what was making her so nervous. She couldn't grasp the reason why the atmosphere had became so heavy, nor could she explain why she felt that her body was burning. She had shared Etowaru's bed for years. Thousands times had she slipped under his sheets and never such a fiery sensation had taken over her._

_He was right behind her, his breath caressing her nape, she could feel his body right behind her, closer than it had ever been in the past. She felt his fingers curling around her arm, while his other hand settled on her hair._

_And then, unexpected, the soft contact of lips brushing against her skin sent thrills throughout her petrified body and Eli's eyes widened greatly._

"_Eh...?"_

_That was all she managed to say. It wasn't even a sentence, barely a word but, somehow, it spoke her state of mind quite accurately._

_The young man's grip on her arm tightened before vanishing entirely along with the soft contact of his lips on the girl's nape._

"_Towa ?" Eli turned around to peer at the young man's face, her ingenuous eyes filled with the questions her mouth couldn't form._

"_I'm-I... I'm sorry," he said, despair glimmering his inky orbs in which reflected the jade of her own._

_She was at loss for words. First, a kiss. It was a kiss wasn't it...? And now, seeing him nervous ! Etowaru was strong, smart, and fearless. Never had he shown the slightest iota of doubt. It was all so unfamiliar, so impossible for the mind of the fourteen-year-old girl. She sat on her feet, her nails digging into the bedding as she felt a fresh wrench of anxiousness on her guts._

"_I- I... don't understand," she said desperately with a shaky voice. "Tell me, Towa... tell me... please..."_

_Etowaru's jaws gritted as he clenched his fists. All of the young man seemed so tensed that the tight grip soon took Eli in its claws as well. His face drooped and raven-haired warrior stood up silently._

"_I'm sorry, please... forgive me," he said quietly, his back facing the girl. "You can stay here if you want."_

_Without another word, the young man walked out of the bedroom and closed the door behind him. For a moment, Eli stared at the door hoping to see it opening and that Etowaru would come back, but Etowaru never came back..._

_A cold shiver ran up her spine, goose bumps appearing on her skin, and Eli let herself fall on the mattress. Her face buried in the sheets, the girl's mind was filled with the recollection of the soft touch on her skin and, as the memory shone in her heart, the girl wondered; if it was really a kiss given from the man she loved, why did she feel a sting on her heart...?_

* * *

In the vast blackness surrounding her, the first thing that Eli became aware of was her breathing. Soft and regular, she felt warm air entering her mouth to fill her lungs. Her chest swelled up slowly before emptying, expelling the breath almost inaudibly through her lips. The second thing her mind perceived was a warm presence pressed against her back and around her waist.

"Eli..."

Things gradually became clearer. She felt a soft brush against her neck and her eyelids parted. Whiteness was all she could see at first, but with every slow flutter of her lashes, strokes of green surfaced on the blank canvas.

"Eli..."

Her whole body contracted and, with a loud, long-drawn yawn of deliverance, Eli stretched her limbs; she resembled very much a cat waking up from an afternoon nap. Her body went lax and the girl sluggishly turned around to look at Ace. A warm smile appeared on her face as she reckoned that his waking ups were the very best she had ever experienced.

"Are we there yet ?" she asked.

"Yup'," Ace said as he laid a soft kiss on her forehead.

The young man stood up and while she sat up groggily, Eli rubbed her heavy eyelids. With a last yawn, she observed her surroundings; the Striker was docked on a fluffy white beach. It was a few meters wide, bordered by a thick jungle and further, as Eli raised her face upward, she saw stairs trailing up the face of a hill-like cloud, houses scattered all over the hazy slope.

"Where are we ?" Eli stood up and was looking at Ace. "Hu ?" she uttered as she saw the young man shrug.

"Are you ready ?" he asked.

"For what exact-HEY !"

The young man grabbed the girl's wrist and dragged her over to the beach. "Exploration of course !" Ace grinned

He was chuckling, very much like a mischievous little boy, and Eli wasn't quite sure if she should be joining his laughs or not. As soon they entered the jungle, darkness covered the couple on the spot. The scenery was scrolling rapidly around her as Ace was dragging her rather rushingly, and the girl observed the trees and bushes with a pouting face. The green-eyed pirate longed for an exciting day on the dreamy beach, not an exploration of some uninteresting jungle. The floor beneath her feet was soft, and looking at it, she wasn't s surprised to see that it was made of cloud as well.

After a minute, the flame user came to a stop and Eli looked around questioningly; trees, bushes, trees again... Really there was nothing-

A short moan escaped the girl's mouth as Ace's hot lips crashed on hers.

_Oh..._ At that moment, Eli realized that, once more, she had been a bit dense. Of course, that was what Ace meant by _exploration_...

to be continued

* * *

**Betaed by Fox MC.**

_The seven kisses chapter._

_Two from Eli to Southy. The cute bird is leaving us and I will miss him :/  
One from Ace on Eli's forehead. A flameless flame boy, I wonder is you expected that :)  
One from Etowaru. What did you think of this flashback ?  
Two from Ace again (neck and forehead) as she wakes up. Isn't he the sweetest ?  
And the last one, to begin their 'exploration'._

_I feel that I haven't updated in ages... I hope I'll be able to resume to the previous updating rate soon._

_Review please ? I love reading (and replying) your reactions :)_

_See you on Thursday._


	66. Explorers

**Chapter 66****  
Explorers**

Whenever Eli came by one of those couples' outdoors make-out session, her reaction always followed the same schema of emotions. First surprise, a split second later, curiosity and even less than a fraction of that time to feel disgust taking over her in a spasm of repulse. Squishy, squashy sounds of the tongues' wrestling reaching her ears, she'd soon avert her gaze while her face displayed an outraged, nauseated wince.

With a deep moan, Eli arched her hips a bit more, feeling a heat wave washing over her as her pounding desire chaffed along Ace's hardness.

The electrifying surprise that had struck the girl the moment Ace's lips had made contact with hers had quickly vanished along with the rest of her. She had felt herself melting under his kisses, and, without breaking the exciting connection, the two explorers had slowly slid down on the ground for a more pleasurable position. Ace was sitting on the soft ground and Eli was straddling the young man's hips.

And then, it had came to her like an epiphany, the flame user had slipped his tongue inside of the girl's mouth and, as shivers of delight shook her body, the reason why the idiotic lovebirds' mouths seemed like glued together became an evidence; how one could manage snapping off this exquisite touch ?

Her fingers waving through the silky wisps of hair falling on his nape, Eli felt shivers racing underneath the flame user's skin.

The chronicler had no idea how long it had been since they had entered the forest. Her mind roughly evaluated the lapse of time between a few minutes and a long and delicious eternity. After all, it didn't matter. All things that might have been considered as significant before seemed now rather distant from the place where Eli and Ace were. Time was a blurry and useless notion and words had been replaced by moans and whines. The only thing that seemed to be of importance at that moment was to give and take as much pleasure as possible.

For their _exploration,_ Ace was evidently the leader and Eli had let herself follow him obediently, eager to learn from his experience. But the girl was a quick learner and, during this voyage where instincts were the key of success, she didn't wait too long before acting on her own.

It was a dance for which the tempo to follow was directed by a voice in the back of one's head.

Eli let her tongue caress Ace's, slowly, almost sluggishly, before pushing it with more force. It would go lax for a moment, tasting the flame user's mouth, feeling his wet flesh gliding along her own, and while she soaked in his luscious heat, the girl inhaled deeply to fill her whole self with his familiar scent.

It was a tune that Eli would never grow tired of.

With his wet kisses, Ace's warmth was covering her from the surface of her skin to the depth of her womanhood and, as these heat waves washed over her with a delightful randomness, a different Eli was awakened; a hungry Eli, a lustful Eli. So close to him that she could feel his hard heartbeats against her chest, she felt sensual, desirable and, for the first time of her life, Eli felt _beautiful_.

Her skin was tinkling all over her restless body. She wanted to curl and flex, hunch and arc, she wanted to fill the burning hollowness aroused by his touch... That fire was pushing her boundaries further and further with every passing heartbeat. Somewhere in the haze lingering in her mind, she knew it wasn't the first time, but this time alcohol wasn't the reason for such a release. Like never before, the girl felt _sexual_ and, if her mind was intoxicated, it was because of him. Tasting Ace's kisses, Eli reckoned that the most exquisite liquors would hardly be in the same league as the fiery young man.

A low groan left his throat as Ace sucked on the girl's tongue, eliciting little moans from her with every dawdling suction.

Letting herself be carried by the song that only she and Ace could hear, Eli's hands traveled on his body. Her eyes were closed and, like a blind, she was using the sensitive skin of her fingertips to prospect every muscle of his chiseled chest. They crept up and down, passing by and back on his heated skin as if they were walking upon a conquered land. After all, he was; Ace was hers just like she was his.

The girl was immersing herself completely into the delicacies that the flame user's body offered her, Ace, however, was almost well behaved. His upper body resting on his arms, his hands were firmly planted into the soft ground. His lips and tongue were doing things Eli wouldn't dare to mouth, his body was burning and hardening under her touch, but his hands kept their distance.

Why ?

Eli's eyes fluttered open as she pulled back slowly. The contact broke and cold caressed her wet lips. Unbearable, the tiny distance was soon closed as she took Ace's bottom lip between hers and lightly sucked on his warm flesh. In her half lidded field of vision, obsidian orbs appeared. He was looking at her, deeper that anyone before. Green reflecting in gleaming blackness, a burst of energy ran up the girl's body, her every muscle tensed and loosened on its course until it reached her mouth, which released as a whine slipped through her swollen lips.

He was exciting, he was intoxicating, he was maddening, and Eli wanted more, she was _starving_ for more.

"Freckles..." she called out in a breath.

Something exciting flickered in Ace's eyes upon hearing the girl's voice. That voice that was unknown to her. It was hers though, and it felt as if it has always been hers. But it was the very first time she had let it speak. Languid and sulfurous, the chronicler would have been surprised if she wasn't so dazed by the marvelous sensation swelling inside of her.

Exquisite, a force was taking the control of her body. Her hands fetishizing on his body, she could feel the flame user's desire underneath his tanned skin. She could feel it pressed against the lust that throbbed between her legs. She could see it smoldering in the dark depth of his eyes. It was fighting his with tight restraints and her mind was focused on one and only one purpose; tear these bonds to shreds and unleash the young man's passion.

Reluctantly, she pulled away and lifted her hands to the clips of her dungarees' straps. A metallic noise made its way to her ears as she unfastened the first strap, and Ace swallowed dryly. Her eyes locked on his, her heartbeats pulsated with more force and speed as her hands moved to the other clip, making it harder to command her fingers. Out of anxiety, her head dropped, as did her clothing.

Her messy bangs were shielding her eyes from the young man's and, as she watched the flimsy fabric of her swimsuit tightly fitted around small breasts, she wondered if he watched them too. Did he like what he saw ? Could he see how excited she was ? Did he know how much she yearned for him to take those small growths with his hot lips...?

With a short intake of air, Eli lifted her hands again to unbutton her small tube top and expose herself completely to the man who was setting her body aflame. But as her fingertips brushed against the first button, large hands captured hers and Eli's face slowly raised toward Ace's.

"Touch me..." she said quietly, almost pleadingly, as she gazed at his face, which was flushed almost as much as hers.

His hold on her hands tightened and Eli closed her eyes feeling a thrill as a light and warm touch brushed against the acutely sensitive flesh of her breast.

"I- I... That's not a.. good idea," he said, and as she watched his lips moving, Eli sucked hers, feeling the need of his kisses swelling inside of her flesh.

The jade of her half lidded eyes was electrifying as Eli pushed her face in his direction. Ace let an agonizing sigh escape his mouth before releasing the girl's slender fingers and settling his hands on her hips. His hands, his large and warm hands... the girl could only fancy about what they could do to her body four years after their first clumsy intercourse. Eli invitingly arched her hips, as the air around her grew a little hotter. The girl wrapped her arms around his neck and, just like her lips on his mouth, she pressed her chest on his, the shift of her weight on him making the pirate lay on his back slowly.

Her forearms framing his head, Eli lavished Ace's lips with sluggish kisses, feeling the young man's hot breath flowing from his parted lips into her mouth. She traced the small opening with her tongue, her eyes diving deeply into his.

He was more than a drug, he was in the air she breathed, and he was flowing through her veins along with her boiling blood. He was all her eyes could see, the only scent she could smell and the only thing she wanted her skin to touch.

Ace opened his mouth and Eli slid her fingers in his hair, running in his mane like her tongue along his. A groan resonated through his throat as the girl sucked on his tongue just like he did several whines ago and, with every suction, the hollowness burning inside off her grew unbearable. Supplicating moans floated through the air as she rolled her hips against his while, in her mind, Eli wished and longed for Ace to fill the vibrant void pounding in the confines of her womanhood.

His grip on her hips tightened, his hot fingertips digging into her skin; he was restraining her movements.

"Why...?" she breathed against his mouth and bit his bottom lip hungrily.

His strong hold lessened but did not disperse. Ace took a deep intake of air before swallowing hard.

"You'll flee," he breathed.

_What...?_

"If we go too fast, you'll run away."

_Too fast...?_ The languish fire burning inside of her morphed and burst inside of her chest, easing her heartbeats on its path. Without her consent, a smirk crept on the girl's lips and Ace stared at her, a gleam of surprise in his dark eyes.

"What a strange choice of word." Eli rested her hands on his chest and lifted her upper body. "Don't you know ?" Her smile grew a little more wicked as the girl sat up comfortably on his hips and let her fingertips slowly slide down his delicious bare chest. "Nothing is, or will ever be, too _fast_ for me."

As her fingers brushed against the rim of his shorts, Ace's eyes grew wide. Staring at him, Eli took the buckle of his belt in her hand and unfastened the clip without an ounce of doubt. A malicious glimmer fluttered in her eyes as she pulled the leather band slowly and regularly. With a gasp, the flame user covered his face with his hands, muttering behind his greeted teeth, which only made the playful girl chuckle.

The countless fantasies she had had of him only pushing her forward, she threw his belt away and reached for his fly. Eli was very serious with her plan of unbuttoning his shorts when she heard a little cry coming from her left. Puzzled, she turned her head around in search for the source while her fingers remained under the thick fabric, very close to Ace's arousal.

_What the..._

Her eyes widened on the spot as they set on the most adorable creature she had ever seen. A fox, a little fox, white and fluffy just like the clouds he was standing on. His eyes appeared close and he had a long, thin nose.

"Suu~ ?"

And the sweetest voice in the whole wide world.

Utterly infatuated, Eli scrambled in his direction and the fox briskly turned around as she approached.

"WAIT !" The girl stood up and followed the fox's fluffy tail swaying oh so charmingly.

As she ran through the forest behind the mysterious animal, Eli's dungarees slid down along her legs, almost making her fall. Muttering and frowning, she pulled the piece of clothing up and attached the straps, while not losing the fox's sight.

As they burst out of the forest, the whiteness of her new surroundings blinded her on the spot. Squeezing her eyelids rapidly, Eli saw a human figure appearing in her hazy field of vision.

"Heso, pardon me." It was a man. "Are you a pirate ?"

Average height, he was almost bald if it wasn't for two sort of brown, hairy antennas sticking upward from the top of his head. A round bear was covering his mouth entirely and his eyes were closed, just like the fox. He wore a yellow and light brown robe long enough to cover his knees. The man also had white wings on his back, which led Eli to believe he was a sky-lander.

"Pardon me, my name is Pagaya," he said, through his thick, brown beard.

If he was a sky-lander, he didn't seem as dangerous as the first one the pirates had met.

"Ah, yes." Eli snapped out of her observation and crouched to gaze at the little fox hiding behind the man's legs. "I'm pirate. You can call me Eli, cutie-cutie-cutie~" she said with a childish voice, moving her fingers in front of the scared animal.

"Oh, this is Suu," the man said looking at his pet.

"Owwwwwww~" Eli eyes turned into hearts as she clasped her hands to her face. "Suu ! How cute !" She raised her head upward to look at Pagaya. "Can I hold him ?"

"I'm not sure..." A fist lifted to his mouth the sky-lander cleared his throat with embarrassment. "Pardon me, but your friends asked me to look for you."

"Friends ?"

"Yes. Your crewmates are in a terrible danger," he said, and looked around apparently in search for something. "But, your captain told me there would be two persons... Pardon me."

The fear that had spread through the pirate girl's blood upon hearing the words 'terrible' and 'danger' so close to 'crewmates' was quickly washed away at the mention of a missing person... The second person she was supposed to be with. The person she had completely forgotten the moment her eyes met with the cloudy fox. The person she was, quite outrageously, making out with just a few minutes ago...

_Damn ! Ace... _A sharp wrench of guilt on her guts, Eli bit her bottom lip nervously.

He would be mad. He would be _beyond_ mad. The black-haired pirate was probably already burning every tree he could see... if he was able to use his flames again... A nervous laugh seized her as she pictured Ace fruitlessly trying to set the forest aflame, Pagaya looked at the girl rightly puzzled because of her odd reaction.

"Pardon me but-" The sky-lander startled as Eli fell on her side holding her stomach from the pain of her laughing fit. "This is very serious..."

_Focus !_ she ordered herself, remembering that her friends were possibly in danger. Her fit quickly died out and Eli stood up.

"I'll be right back," she said, as she walked in the direction of the forest. "Please, wait here."

I didn't take her long enough to spot Ace in the forest. He was sitting on the ground, his back facing her. Eli hid behind a tree, while observing the young man as he slid his belt around his shorts. From where she was, she couldn't see his face, but the girl was sure it didn't look pretty. She could quite perfectly picture his dark brows furrowed in a heavy frown while the corners of his lips crooked down.

Staring at his nape partly hidden behind shaggy wisps of dark hair, the girl wondered how she could excuse herself and, with every passing second, the possibilities multiplied in her mind in a complete, unmanageable chaos. With a deep intake of air, Eli ruffled her mane rapidly to clear her mind, and breathed out slowly to unwind her tight insides.

"Hey-"

Ace's head snapped around and, in spite of being very prepared to face his furious glare, the girl startled the moment his burning eyes met with hers.

With a sheepish laugh, she slowly walked in his direction and sat on her feet next to him. Playing nervously with the tip of her fingers, she stared down. Many apologies were flowing on her mind yet her lips were still, tightly pursed as she feared that a wrong word might fan the flames of his anger. But she has to say something, and so, while observing blindly her fingers, Eli opened her mouth.

"Listen, I-"

"No, YOU listen," Ace interrupted. "You can't do this, you just... CAN'T !" He lifted her chin, forcing her to look at him and Eli bit her bottom lip when her eyes met with furious ones. "You understand ?"

She opened her mouth once more, only to find that now her voice was gone. Slowly, she swallowed air and tried again.

"I'm sorry but..." Eli lifted her hands and curled her fingers around his. "Did you see him ? He was so cute..."

Her puppy jade eyes only faced dark and boiling ones. Apparently Ace did not understand, or estimate that the girl's plea was legitimate. Grabbing her wrists, he pinned Eli on the soft ground, a gasp escaping her mouth as he pushed his heavy chest on hers.

"Do you know for how long I've been waiting for this, Eli ?" His voice was dangerous, and so were his eyes.

"Do you have any idea how painful it was to restrain myself, Eli ?"

Yes, she did.

"I knew you would flee," he said harshly, giving his head a brutal shake as he spoke. "I knew it and you-"

"I didn't flee," Eli stated calmly.

"_What_ ?"

"I didn't flee," she repeated a bit louder. "I saw a cute animal and I followed it."

"Are you kidding me, Eli ?"

"I'm not... That's who I am." She sighed and Ace's grip on her wrists loosened. "That was always who I was and you knew it, from the beginning."

The young man's expression was uncertain; while his gaze was sharp, his mouth was slightly agape. Averting her eyes, Ace sat up and lifted a hand to his hair while the other clutched on the soft ground.

"You..." he snarled but never finished his sentence. Briskly, he grabbed his mane, looking like he needed to hold something.

If Ace's gaze was elusive, Eli's was firm. Slowly, she sat up as well and once more curled her thin fingers around his fist clenched on the ground, a gentle feeling arising from where her palms were as she felt his tensed muscles loosening within her embrace. As the warmth spreading from her hands told her to speak what her heart murmured, the girl shifted a little closer to the man she loved.

"I won't change, Ace." Eli's tone of voice was sweet and strong at the same time for she was sure of her words and only spoke the truth. "I won't flee, but I won't change who I am."

A soft smile settled on her lips as Eli lifted a hand to his freckled cheek; she knew he'd understand. She felt lighter then, she felt true, and as she let her thumb caress his skin tenderly, the girl felt more in love with him than ever before.

"Okay ?" Her voice was shinning with all of her affection for the young man as she dove deeply in the blackness of his shining orbs.

"Don't talk to me like I'm some kind of kid." As Ace rolled his eyes away, once again averting her loving gaze, his sullen mood making Eli's smile grew larger.

"I know you're not." Out of love, she kissed his freckles. "I'm sorry." She placed a kiss on the crooked corner of his lips. "Don't be mad," she whispered against his mouth.

Their roles seemed so undefined during their interactions. He was acting childishly when she wasn't. He was restraining himself when she wound up. And now that she was sweet and tender, Eli found herself, once again, pushed down by the young man in a flicker of flame. But this time, it wasn't anger that was burning in the depth of his eyes.

Lust.

For a few hard heartbeats, a heated haze blurred her vision as Ace was looming over her, a dangerous aura emanating from his body suddenly becoming several degrees hotter. One of his hands slid up her nape to plunge into her messy hair while the other moved down along her arm, firmly pressed against her pale skin. His dark eyes gazing at her intensely, Eli felt her thoughts melting within his intoxicating heat; her friends and the possible danger they were in grew distant, almost out of her reach.

Moving onto her waist exposed by the wide gap of her dungarees, Ace's fingers traced a hot path up her chest, strangled moans escaping Eli's mouth as his burning touch reached the side of a breast. Involuntary, she rolled her head backward, exposing her neck to the young man.

As the eye contact broke, the urgency of the pirates' situation tingled in her mind. She had to tell him... if only she could find her voice.

In a breath, the flame user lowered his head and nipped hungrily on her skin, leaving a hot and wet trail as his mouth crept toward hers. Grasping tightly the back of Eli's head, he pushed her lips on his. They were moving deliciously on her rosy skin and the girl didn't made him wait long before opening her wanting mouth.

Ace's passionate kiss felt like a delicious invasion. Strong and sly, his tongue pushed and nudged hers, bold and never rough; Eli shuddered against his hard body. The restraints that had been holding him back previously were a thing of the past and long forgotten. Unleashed, the young man's hands mapped her body freely and Eli offered herself completely. An agonizing moan flew from her mouth as his fingers slipped under the fabric of her swimsuit to squeeze her breast tenderly. Searing were her thoughts and so was her skin upon the path of his large hands.

And these eyes, these deep eyes, Eli couldn't close hers as they were mesmerized by Ace's black eyes. Feebly, her fingers blindly crept up his arms and tightly curled around his strong muscles; she had to stop him, she had to tell him.

Ace wrapped one of her leg around his waist and, with a groan, thrust his hips into hers.

"Wait...!" she whined lustily, finally finding her voice with the forceful burst of energy.

But if her voice was back, her mind was still wavering and, with another hard thrust, Eli saw blank for a split heartbeat.

Impossible dilemma, she wanted this, she wanted this for so long now, so strongly, so furiously. Her emptiness had awakened again, stirring, sizzling, and this time, Ace was ready to fulfill her desire. His mouth ravishing hers, his hands roaming over her needy skin, the roll of his hips into hers... He was driving her insane.

Eli squeezed eyelids shut and took a deep intake of burning air while her nails dug deeper into the tanned skin of his arms.

"Luffy !" she gasped, freezing the flame user on the spot.

There was a moment of silence then. Ace was immobile, not even breathing, while Eli was panting hard, her body still shaken as shivers of desire raced under her skin.

"WHAT !" he finally yelled, fire and ice spreading in the air with his screech.

With a hard swallow, Eli settled her green eyes on dark, bewildered ones. "Luffy and... everyone..." Another gulp. "They're in danger."

Oddly, Ace seemed extremely relieved then. He breathed out deeply while running a hand through his shaggy hair. As he sat up, Eli felt perturbed when she heard him laugh...

Timing.

Timing has always been a problem between the two lovers. But somehow, the frustration of being interrupted once more was lessened as they both knew that there would be another time they could finally satisfy their desires, for they had a whole life before them.

to be continued

* * *

**Beta by Fox MC.**

_Gotta love the end.  
I didn't plan it. It is one of those things that come to me just like that and I totally burst in laughter the moment my fingers typed "Luffy !"_

_I like lustful Eli and I like lustful Ace even more :)_

_So many of you asked for the 'exploration'. I hope you're not disappointed ! Please tell me, I'm starving for your reactions !_

_Oh and Suu ! Did you forget about the little fox ? I didn't, he is my favorite, favorite, favorite animal in One Piece. Well, now I prefer the south bird... But before I gave the south bird a name and personality, Suu was my favorite :)_

_See you on Monday~_

_ You can go read Twig 17 now :)_

_Little note : I have a deviantart account now ! (link on my profile)_


	67. Lovebirds' Routine

**Chapter 67  
****Lovebirds' Routine**

Skypiea, Angel Island, Upper Yard... The two pirates couldn't help but feel like tourists when Pagaya explained the whole situation their crewmates were in. The name of the Island they were on was Angel Island, it was a part of a land called Skypiea, and the name of the beach they had docked at was Angel Beach. It was also where Pagaya and his daughter Conis lived. They both welcomed the rest of the crew to their home and had a meal together.

"Speaking of meal," Ace interrupted. "If it's not too much to ask..."

Eli rolled her eyes, causing his eyebrows to rise on his forehead. "What ?" he asked.

"Nothing..." Eli gave her eyes another roll before shifting to Pagaya. "Please go on."

"Pardon me, but I almost forgot." The Skypiean shifted his backpack, and got two lunch-boxes out. "Your cook gave me those for you."

"Neat !" Ace beamed, sat down on the soft beach and started digging into his meal on the spot.

After the meal in the Pagaya's home, the rest of the Straw Hats were informed that the White Berets, Skypiea's police force, came to apprehend the them for illegal entrance into the territory. As the pirates refused to pay the fee, the White Berets engaged battle with the trespassers, who fought back and won.

Eli couldn't help but reckon sadly that, whether it was on the blue seas or into the skies, it seemed that their careless' way of life brought down the authorities' wrath upon them.

_So much for vacations in the heavens,_ she thought wryly.

The captain of the White Beret's last words before retreating was a dangerous threat; the priests of the Upper Yard would personally judge them.

"Upper Yard ?" Eli asked.

"Pardon me... Yes..." Pagaya seemed very uncomfortable as he spoke. "It's a place where no one should ever enter." His voice was wavering and his eyebrows were knitting together in a frightened frown, further and further, while sweat was building in the deep wrinkles. "It is the holy land... The place where God lives."

"God...?" Apparently Ace was still paying attention to the discussion in spite of how focused on his meal he seemed to be.

"The almighty God, Enel," Pagaya nodded, wiping the sweat on his forehead. "We told your captain that no one can ever ever enter the holy land, except for the ones who were to face his judgment, but he seemed rather..." He cleared his throat. "... _enthusiastic_ to go there despite our warnings."

"That's what you said ? 'Never, ever, _ever' _?" Ace asked.

As Pagaya nodded, the two pirates exchanged gazes and snickered. If one needed to attract Luffy somewhere, it was probably the very thing to say, that and 'free meat'. Eli could perfectly picture his face splitting grin as the rubber teen's eyes gleamed dreamily and, as she gazed at Ace, if less manifested, she could see the same hunger for adventure showing through slightly in his dark orbs.

Suu came out of the forest while uttering a lovely 'suuuu~' and Eli forced herself to stare at Pagaya. With a stiff smile and a nod, the chronicler urged the Skypean to go on while trying to ignore the cute fox.

The man told the two pirates that soon after the White Berets' failed arrest, the 'white-white sea special super speedy shrimp' took the Merry away, when Zoro, Nami, Chopper, and Robin were on board. In heaven's judgment, he explained, there were two types of punishment for the criminals; one was a 'sacrifice', and the other was a 'trial'. Therefore, the ones being judged in this situation were Luffy, Usopp and Sanji.

"But you weren't there," Pagaya said, hope showing on his face and voice. "I am sure that if you speak with the White Berets and pay the entering fee they will understand."

At that offer, Eli couldn't help but being very skeptical and soon confused. Was he proposing them to _flee_ the 'judgment' while their crewmates would be in danger ? Her puzzled face turned into a frown as harsh words itched under her skin and in her head.

"We don't have the money either way," Ace said calmly. A frown on his face he was poking the little white fox. "We'll take the trial."

It was Pagaya's turn to be confused. There was fear in his voice while he desperately tried to convince the two pirates to reconsider. His reaction made Eli wonder what kind of god this 'Enel' was if his worshipers were so afraid of him.

After a while, the Skypiean beat in retreat before the two pirates' unwavering decision, and with a sigh, offered to guide them to the Milky road, which was an artificial river made of clouds that connected Angel Land to the Upper Yard.

"Ah !" Pagaya trotted in Ace's direction as the young man jumped onto the Striker. "Pardon me but... I couldn't help but notice the engine on your raft." He crouched and observed the paddles while rubbing his beard thoughtfully. "How does it work ?" he asked, his face turned upward.

"Fire energy," Ace replied and held out his open palm in the Skypiean's direction.

"Fire ?" Pagaya stood up. "But, pardon me, I thought that you didn't know about Dials..." he trailed off while looking at the young man's hand, then at the young man himself.

A frown on his face, Ace was staring at his palm. As she saw him greeting his jaws, Eli chuckled. It was so amusing to see 'smug-face' in such predicament. As she covered her mocking face, muffling inefficiently her little laughs, the black-eyed pirate glared at the chronicler, a large flame appearing in his outstretched hand on the spur of the moment.

Pagaya startled. "Oh, my !"

Apparently, anger was a flammable material, Eli noted, sticking the tip of tongue out playfully.

"What are the 'Dials' you mentioned ?" she asked, shifting her gaze to the Skypiean.

Pagaya searched through his bag and gave Eli a large seashell that he called 'Tone Dial'. He told her that those shells were gathered from the reefs in the shallows of the white-white sea. As she observed the object, the Skypiean explained that they had the ability to store several kind energy and matter depending on the nature of the seashell. A button on the top of the coil allowed its content to be released in different amounts depending on the type of Dial.

Curious, Eli pressed the button. "_Usopp is stupid !_" The girl startled, it was Luffy's voice. "_Ah, why me ?_" Usopp's. "_Hihi... Now please press that button-_" An unknown female voice.

"Breath Dials can store air and we use them to propel our boats; the wavers," Pagaya explained. "We also have Dials that store cloud, water, fire-"

"_Usopp is stupid !_" Eli had pushed the button again and was chuckling stupidly. "_Ah, why me ?_" "_Hihi... Now please press that button-_"

"Let me see Twig," Ace urged, reaching out for the girl.

A little smirk crept on her lips as Eli watched Ace's fingers moving in impatience. She swirled around and whispered into the shell. "You've got rice on you face."

Beaming proudly, she threw the Dial and Ace stumbled hurriedly as it was going to fall into the sea. The young man caught it just in time and frowned at Eli who was almost hoping up and down with impatience while Pagaya was watching the whole scene with a hearty smile vaguely perceptible from under his brown beard.

With a sigh, Ace brought the shell to his ear and, almost instantly, rubbed his face rapidly, effectively removing the little grains that were stuck on his freckles.

Eli giggled and turned toward Pagaya. "Those..." She looked down in search for her words, before shifting her gaze back to the man. "Breath Dials...? Can they be attached to feet ? Because we saw a man sliding over the surface of the sea..."

"Yes, cloud skates." Pagaya nodded.

"Niiiice." Eli grinned. "Do you happen to-"

"Hey Twig !" Ace called out.

Eli's head snapped around as the black-haired pirate threw her the Tone Dial. A little smile on her face, she brought the shell to her ear and pushed the button.

"_Will you get your divine ass over here already _?" Eli's face flushed. "_Or else I'll have to give you a span-_"

Briskly, she shoved the Dial on Pagaya's chest. "Thank you for everything !"

"That was nothing," he said looking at the girl questioningly as she dashed over to the raft. "Sail along the coast line." He pointed the direction with his hand. "You'll find a sign indicating the Milky road."

Small flames arising from Ace's feet, the Striker slowly grew distant from the beach.

"Twig," Ace quietly said while he waved the Skypiean goodbye. "Would have been nice if you had erased the last message..."

* * *

For a long, _long_ time the Striker sailed along Angel beach. I was so very slow that Eli wondered if it wouldn't have been faster if the two pirates had just walked on the shore while dragging the raft behind them.

Silently, Eli was writing down in her logbook Pagaya's encounter, his report about the other Straw Hats' unfortunate situation, as well as the information about the Dials. All the while she was nibbling guiltily on the lunch-box Sanji prepared for her. It was so pretty that it was almost a waste to destroy it, but somehow, it seemed that the presentation improved the taste.

"Mine wasn't as pretty," Ace said from behind her.

"Really ?" Eli replied absently, as she was focused on her book and meal.

"You have a lot more lobster than me."

"Bummer..."

"Don't you get it Twig ?" Ace asked making Eli finally raise her face to look at him, her spoon remaining on the edge of her lips. "He's jealous."

The girl snorted and shifted her gaze back to her book. "Right... " she muttered.

How could one be jealous of something he didn't know ? Ace was obviously trying to find a way to get his hands on her food and so the girl increased her pace, and devoured the lunch-box's content rapidly.

Rinsing the now empty box, the chronicler perceived the sign indicating the way to the Milky road and Ace adjusted the Striker's sluggish course. It was a ribbon of cloud, floating a few meters above the sea. No current was disrupting the foamy surface of the river, and smoothly, the Striker slid through the mass of bubbles.

As she could now distinguish the Upper Yard in the distance, uneasiness started to stir in Eli's chest. She had no idea for how long her crewmates were there and hoped that they were all right.

The group that was worrying her the most was the 'sacrifice'. Zoro was the only real fighter among them. Nami could defend herself of course and so could Chopper, but their fears easily overwhelmed the two, and as she remembered the encounter with the first sky-lander upon their arrival on the surface of the Millennium Cumulonimbus, the chronicler's anxiousness only grew sharper.

Eli put her lunch-box back in her bag and sat in front of Ace. "Do you know if Robin can fight ?"

Ace looked like he had a revelation then. On the spot, he snapped his fingers and took his green bag, apparently looking for something. Rustling sounds made their way to Eli's ears as she shifted her weight to the side and peered at the young man's bustle. Soon, he produced a piece of paper, unfolded it and handed it to the girl.

"Look what I found on Jaya," he said as Eli took the sheet of paper.

It was a bounty poster and upon seeing it the chronicler observed its picture questioningly. It was the photo of a little girl. Her hair was sleek and dark, cut above her shoulders, she also had bangs. The girl looked like she was around eight years old but her cold blue eyes and the serious frown darkening her pretty face made Eli think that she must have gone through a lot more painful experiences than most of the adults she knew.

"Robin !" she gasped as soon as her eyes glided upon the name imprinted below the picture, and further, her bounty rendered her speechless.

"You're wondering how a kid can get a seventy nine million beli bounty, right ?" Ace spoke her mind quite accurately. The young man crouched down, rested his elbows on his knees and laced his fingers. "Did you see the epithet ?" He made a little motion with his chin.

"_The Demon of Ohara_," Eli read out loud. "What's... _Ohara_ ?" She raised her face from the poster to look at Ace.

"It's the name of her mother country apparently. The marine says that the Oharans were researching ancient weapons to destroy the world," he explained, Eli's eyes widening upon the revelation.

"But-but, it has to be a lie !" Eli's fingers clutched on the poster with a little rustle. "She said she wanted to learn about history !"

"I know, calm down, I didn't tell you everything." Leaning a bit forward his eyes dove into hers. "In fear from the Oharan's researchers, the marine attacked Ohara and killed every last one of its inhabitants."

A white noise filled her ears as the meaning of the words echoed in Eli's mind. Her eyes were fixed on Ace, but she didn't see him. Her gaze was piercing through his body, piercing through reality's veil; she could see the smoke and flames again, she could smell the stench again.

A hand touched her in the blank void she was in. "Eli ?"

Her eyes snapped back at Ace. "How do you know all this ?" she urged.

"I traveled, I heard things..." His fingers curled around her thin arm. "Are you alright ?"

Eli nodded voicelessly.

"I didn't tell the others yet because I wanted to investigate a little more." His hand left her arm and Ace stood up.

"_Investigate_...?" Eli repeated in a disgusted tone of voice. "Did you _investigate_ on all of us ?"

"No ! I came by her poster when I was looking for you in Mock Town. And you said it yourself, she is mysterious," Ace said gazing in the distance. "She had already lost everything. Who knows what someone like her can do ?"

_Someone like her..._

"But she's part of our crew now !" Eli claimed now staring at Ace, holding his gaze with an unneeded steadiness. "And I saw her, she is gentle ! She won't do us any wrong !"

The flame user blinked a few times. "I know that the marine must have set up a lie, but still... she might be dangerous." Leaning down, he picked the poster from Eli's clenched fists and put it back in his bag. "Just be careful, okay ?"

"Why ? Why Ace ?" Eli's voice bordered to a screech, her eyes searched for his with a slight sensation of burn. "Because she has lost her people doesn't mean she's a bad person !"

"But two weeks ago she was our enemy." Ace sighed and turned around to spread the Striker's white sail down.

As she stared at his back, Eli felt her heart bolting heavily in her chest. Why was she flaring up like that ? Was she still pleading for the archeologist's cause ?

With a loud breath, the wind filled the sail and the Striker resumed its course on the Milky road. As Ace sat next to her, Eli bit nervously on her bottom lip. She was anxious and she had an idea as to the cause of the state of strain and stir her mind was in; despite her reason, the Sutan girl couldn't help but fear Ace's reaction the day he'll learn her past.

Gently, Ace placed a warm hand on her back and that was then that Eli realized she was freezing.

"What's wrong ?" Ace asked, his fingers caressing her cold skin as he spoke. "Tell me."

"It's just..." With a deep breath Eli took a hold of herself and turned her face in his direction. "You can't judge her because of her past."

During the ensuing moment of silence, Ace gazed into Eli's green eyes and the girl felt that she was being read. She knew it, yet she didn't flee his inquisitive stare. Maybe if he asked her, maybe then she wouldn't manage to postpone once again. The blanket of silence that was covering the two lovers was heavy and grew heavier with every passing heartbeat. Ace looked like he wanted to say something, Eli could almost read the words on his grave face. But the young man recoiled. A deep sigh flew from his lips as he broke the intense eye contact.

"Still," Ace said quietly, his eyes now set on the white sail. "You are all too carefree. Someone has to protect you. All of you."

"You're our father now ?" Eli asked a bit harshly.

"I _certainly_ wouldn't want that," Ace said and as he looked at her, Eli felt the heavy weight on her heart lifting a little; there was a smile on his freckled face and a hint of smugness glowing in his eyes. "Come on." Ace pulled her against him and the girl let herself lean against his chest.

His familiar warmth was pacifying, and as it covered her gradually, a light sensation fluttered inside of her. Silent, Eli's jade eyes were lost in the white scenery which was slowly scrolling around her and its brightness caused a light squeeze on her heart.

"What if someone sees us ?" she said with a shy voice, her lips moving against his skin as she spoke.

Ace's sole reply was to wrap both his arms around her and slowly lay on his side. Eli rested her head on his shoulder, her face turned upward to gaze at his lovely freckled face. As she wallowed on his charming features, the girl felt her heart beating a little harder.

"It feels strange..." she said.

"What ?" Ace removed his hat, and put it down.

"This... you... me... the whole package."

"Really ?" Looking deeply in the jade of her eyes, Ace lifted a hand to her face and brushed his thumb against her cheek. "I think it is the most natural and rational thing we've ever done."

As a soft chuckle left her chest along with her doubts, Ace's leaned in her direction and pressed his lips against hers.

At that moment Eli could feel it too, within the warm sensation that was washing over her with a gentleness resembling that of the spring rays of the sun caressing one's skin; she had made many mistakes in her life, but that, being by him, was the wisest thing she had ever done, and she would do anything to protect it.

to be continued

* * *

**Betaed by Fox MC.**

_I love that couple :) The way they tease each other, the way they look at each other, and how peaceful they are when they hold each other close. How good it feels to see them together now. I hope you're enjoying this as well._

_Something else now, for my older readers; the chapters 1 to 3 have been updated. You can enjoy some new little things :)_

_See you soon~_


	68. Holy Land

**Chapter 68  
****Holy Land**

At a snail's pace, the Striker was sailing along the Angel Road which was floating high up in the air, overhanging the Upper Yard; the Holy Land of Skypiea. Much larger than Angel Island, it seemed that its ground was composed of earth and not cloud. With gigantic trees covering the soil, it looked like a giant jungle.

Overall, it was an amazing sight, and it should have amazed the two pirates who were sailing in its direction, if only they spared a gaze to the island. But their eyes were already occupied watching each other with a degree of pleasure and excitation which made it impossible to look another way.

"We have to... stop," Eli said, the tone her voice was showing an obvious lack of resolve for her words, almost as much as her actions as, once she had spoken, the girl kissed her partner with even more intensity than before.

"I know..." Ace breathed against her lips, before plunging his tongue inside of her mouth.

Whines, vaguely protesting, could be heard from the girl's throat as she felt the flame user's fingers creeping under her dungarees. Slowly, they slithered on her rump, heat diffusing from where his fingertips touched her swimsuit. Finally, his palm settled and Ace pushed Eli's hips closer to his.

With a whine, she rolled her head away from his.

"The others..." Pants broke the girl's voice. "They are... in danger," she said in an attempt to reason the both of them.

"I know..." Ace murmured, his voice close to a purr, while the hand that was lingering on the side on her chest moved upward. "We can't do this here."

As he cupped her small breast, Eli bit her bottom lip feeling her heartbeats increasing tremendously. Through her half lidded vision, she could see that Ace had absolutely no intention of giving up right now, and neither did she. The delightful thrills of desire running thought her body grew instantly sharper as his thumb brushed against the firm tip sticking from under the flimsy fabric of her swimsuit. With a loud moan, she grabbed his stupid necklace and pulled the flame user's face to hers.

And there they went again; kissing more than breathing while their hands roamed without restraint on the body they so desperately needed to touch.

Eli's hand edged down his bare chest and lower, relishing at how the muscles of Ace's stomach flexed under her touch. Soon, her skin touched the rim of his shorts, his buckle, and lower... As she let her fingers delicately trace along his hardness, the kisses grew slower. The flame user's hot mouth lingered against hers, brushing ever so lightly her wet skin with his own, an exciting gleam flickering in his eyes. As she watched these deep dark eyes, the girl wondered how he felt. Did he love her touch as much as she loved touching him ? Did he want more ? Eli wanted to hear him speak; she yearned to hear the least sound from him to guide her.

Lingering, grazing, and marveling, from where her fingers were, spread energies in all sorts of shape and temperature. They flowed up her arm and poured into her body to finally hoard inside of the burning hollowness of her womanhood. As if the two were calling for each other, Eli felt her desire throbbing dangerously and her hand slowly settled. Her fingers clutched on the fabric of his shorts, feeling a raw burst of energy washing over her as she did, and as last, her wish was fulfilled; the sound of a groan blew against her swollen lips as Eli let her hand massage the young man's heated arousal.

A gasp escaped her mouth as Ace grabbed her wrist and pinned it behind her head.

"Stop touching me !" He ordered.

As he released the girl's hand, the flame user remained immobile for a moment; dark, angry eyes observed wide, green ones. But if there was anger, it was diluted in the midst of a lust so strong it vaporized Ace's ire to nothing. In a blink, the black eyes left, and the young man pressed his lips on her neck. Eli's insides melted once more as she felt his lips and tongue lavishing her neck, precisely where her pulse throbbed with force from underneath her pale skin.

"Really, Freckles..." she whined agonizingly.

"I know," Ace muttered against her neck, his teeth biting slightly into her skin.

Eli arched into his body and pulled his face up to set his eyes on hers and hers on his.

"One..." she said in a breath.

"Two..." The both of them slowly nodded.

"Three !" The two pirates rolled away from each other at the same time, creating enough distance between their wanting bodies.

With mixed and searing sensations swarming inside of her, her jade gaze firmly clung onto the rather dull and white scenery while Eli brought her knees to her chest. She could still feel her desire burning inside of her while her skin gradually began to go cold upon the fresh breeze. She could still feel her heart racing in her ribcage as her mind was harassing her, ordering her to get back in Ace arms and satisfy at last her consuming lust.

It was so hard to think pure whenever the flame user's warm skin touched her own. For such a long time her want of him had been encaged, and now that it was set free, it grew wild in her mind and body. She needed to touch him, feel him, taste him... She wanted to hear his pleasure; she yearned to see his want of her. Eli longed for Ace's hands to remove the flimsy material that was warped around her restless body while his lips would do those wonderful things they did, over and over, upon every portion of her skin.

With a deep sigh, Eli tightened her hold on her legs and bent her head, pressing her forehead on her knees. However, as she held this firm fetal position, all her body deeply wanted was to flex and spread. But the two lovers were pirates above all. They had crewmates to care for, they had a mission, they had a new land to discover, and this exploration should have been more exciting than the prospect of merging their bodies in a heated embrace...

It should.

Stealthily, Eli peeked over her shoulder, Ace's back appearing in her field of vision. His broad and muscular back that she had bared several moans ago, she wanted to touch it again, kiss it... What about him ? Silently, as she observed him from the corner of her eye, Eli wished for the young man to look over his shoulder as well, for she knew, that if their eyes met, she would see his desire stirring inside of the depth of his dark orbs, and she knew, far too well, that he would see the same crave in hers.

But Ace did not turn his head and Eli was growing impatient. The pirate girl fixed her gaze on the clouds again. Restless, she wanted to call for him, but she had yet to open her lips. Pursed, she sucked on her warm flesh to prevent any sound from escaping. Proud she was, beyond her needs she was proud, even to the point of being stubborn.

It was a game; it had always been a game. A game of control, and either of them was to be the ruler while the other was a pawn.

But after all, being a pawn in hands like his didn't seem like such a bad prospect. Eli repeatedly pressed the fingertips of her indexes together, very impatiently waiting a few seconds more; but Ace did nothing.

_To hell with pride !_

A little smirk on her lips, Eli rolled around and advanced in his direction, impatience shooting up in her hungry mind as Ace didn't even budge. She wrapped an arm around him and pushed her chest on his back, marveling at the sensation of his hot skin against hers.

"Freckles..." she called out with a quiet singing voice, while her fingertips sluggishly traced the tattoo imprinted in his broad arm.

_Nothing...?_

The muscles of her forehead tensed as a frown appeared and furrowed upon the young man's lack of responsiveness.

"Oi !" A little of anger stirring in her needy mind, Eli got on her hands and knees, straddled and rolled Ace on his back.

The young man made a noise a last; a breath, or rather a grunt, before uttering some light snores. He was asleep.

Speechless and cooled down on the spot, the pirate girl gaped at the sight on her lover so sound asleep. It wasn't the first time, though, but this time she looked as if it was one of the strangest things she had ever seen.

On Angel road, a laugh pervaded, hearted and free, it flew from the girl chest as she relapsed from her idiotic daze. Of course Ace had to be asleep, and again, it was probably for the best that he was.

After a few seconds, the laughter quieted. Her glee, however, did not leave Eli's face as she leaned forward to place a kiss on his parted lips. She remained there a moment, gazing at Ace. Charmed beyond anything she had ever seen, she was amazed at how innocent the flame user looked when he slept.

A gentle breeze was caressing her hair, while she silently considered for a moment; she could join him, lie beside him, wallow on his warmth and her love of having him so close. She could remain there until she would fall asleep as well, and then, maybe, he would join her in her dreams.

The thought was very pleasing, and maybe the thought of it was enough already. Contentedly, knowing that she could from now on, spend all of her time by his side, Eli stood up and went to install herself on the raft's main seat. Quietly, the chronicler picked a book from her bag and resumed her reading while, from time to time; she let her jade eyes travel from the pages to the sleeping figure of the man she adored.

* * *

After a while, the chronicler had placed the book she was reading on her lap and picked her logbook to write down her observations of the Upper Yard. Perplexed, she couldn't understand how such a big chunk of earth could be floating among the clouds. If completely amazing, the fact that Sky Islands were made of clouds seemed, somehow, possible. Earth, however, did not form in the atmosphere and the mysterious sight of the giant forest inspired Eli with awe and curiosity; the fact that it was forbidden only rendering the girl impatient to tread this 'holy' land.

The sound of Ace waking-up made its way to the pirate girl's ears, which encouraged her gaze to leave the imposing sight for a much hearty one. The flame user sat up and groggily rubbed his eyes while uttering a loud yawn. Looking around, he blinked a few times before setting his gaze on her.

As he stood up, another yawn left his mouth and Ace stretched his arms high above his head, the muscles of his well defined chest tensing in a particularly attractive manner. Eli brought her pen to her lips and thoughtfully observed the nice display with a barely concealed delectation.

"It's my seat," he said.

"Uh..?" Her jade eyes left the sight of his muscular body to his freckled face. "So mature of you," Eli jested. "And where would mine be, then ?"

Nothing was good about seeing him smirk, she knew that far too well. Ace walked over to her and grabbed the girl's thin waist. With a little surprised sound, Eli quickly clasped her fingers around the book that was falling from her thighs. Easily holding the featherweight girl above the raft's floor, the pirate turned and sat down on the seat she had previously occupied, settling Eli on his lap as he did.

"Here," he said.

"Of course..." Eli rolled her eyes yet did not leave her assigned spot.

Heat radiated from below her as fire burst from his feet. While she quietly made herself comfortable and resumed to her logbook.

"Got your powers back I see, Flame Boy," she said quietly while her eyes read the last words she had written and resumed the unfinished sentence.

"I can't really create flames again," Ace said. "But I can still turn into fire."

Eli made a little understanding sound and shared her observations of the Upper Yard with her partner. The both of them were curious and a few minutes later, they reached the entrance at last.

The Angel Road enlarged tenfold as it penetrated the Island. As soon as they entered, large patches of shadow darkened a rather awe inspiring, if not dreadful, sight; the trees covering the soil were the largest the pirates had ever seen, they bordered the cloud road along with strange half-human, half-animal statues, large torches, and the remains of several ships. Counting them would be quite impossible considering that they were reduced to planks and masts floating on each side of the road.

Her eyes traveling on the ships, a faint, whipping sound caught Eli's attention. Turning around, her nails clawed on Ace's shoulders at the vision of a huge and very sharp pendulum swinging in their direction.

"What-"

"Turnturnturn NOW !" Eli ordered, her green eyes clung on the dangerous blade that was coming at them.

Ace looked over his shoulder and snapped it back around, standing up on the spot; he had apparently forgotten that he had a girl on his lap. Eli was jerked away and while a large quantity of fire burst from his legs, Ace hooked his arm around the twig's body.

The Striker avoided the threat by a hair's breadth and the two pirates began to breathe again until the sound of gears starting to run made their way to their ears. Right in front of them, four, no, _six_ more pendulums appeared. These ones were swinging from a side to another of the road, swiftly cutting the surface of the hazy path on their way.

Ace released Eli, and while she wrapped her arms around the mast, the flame user planted his hat firmly on his head. Was that some kind of strength ritual ? Ace spread his fire feet apart and as he propelled his Striker, he used his hips to maneuver the raft swiftly. If by little, the black-eyed pirate managed to avoid all of the blades. All the while, the girl watched him wordlessly, admiration thudding in her chest.

Once they had passed the pendulums' trial successfully, four gates appeared in the distance. As they got closer, the pirates could read an inscription above each of them: 'Ordeal of Swamp', Ordeal of Iron', Ordeal of String', and 'Ordeal of Balls'. The pendulums were apparently just an appetizer for the real ordeal.

"So..." Ace looked at each of the gate. "If I was Luffy, what 'ordeal' would I choose...?"

Silently, the two pirates read the four inscriptions, Swamp, Iron, String...

"Balls," they both said in unison.

"Obviously," Eli said, a little smile on her face.

Ace moved the Striker toward the gate and the girl walked to the front of the raft to open the door. She placed her hands on the wood and pushed.

"It's closed," she said, looking at Ace over her shoulder.

"Maybe they only allow one group at a time." He shrugged. "Let's take another one," he said. Mischievous, his smile denoted that his hunger for adventure had been awakened.

"What about the _Swamp_ ?" Eli offered, pointing at the gate.

"Your wish is my command, Twig."

This time the door opened, quite easily in fact, leading into a long and dark corridor. Cautiously, Ace propelled his raft forward in an attempt to avoid other hidden traps. It was dark, pitch black, and completely soundless if it wasn't for Ace's flames and the low sound of the Striker's rotor.

After a minute, a little light shone at the end of the corridor and Eli felt expectation rising inside of her along with her heartbeats. Apparently impatient as well, the flame user forgot his prudence and propelled them a little faster toward the end.

Whiteness burnt on her jade eyes as they burst out of the corridor. But it wasn't the slightly scorching sensation on her orbs that made the chronicler shriek frantically. The second they had reached the end, the two pirates found themselves falling off a cliff into the air. And so there she was, plummeting toward a fluffy haze while uttering the longest 'aaaah' of her life.

Unexpectedly smooth, the splash down caused her yelling to fade out, Ace finally unclasping his palms from his ears.

"Are you alright ?" he asked as Eli looked around so rapidly she looked like a mouse on drugs.

"Finefinefine LOOK !" She stood up on the spot pointing forward. "Purple clouds ! Let's gooo~"

Without waiting, she started striding in the direction of the purple haze, her heart still beating so fast in her chest that its thuds apparently covered the voice of her reason warning her that there was no ground where she was about to step.

"ELI !" Ace caught the girl's arm as she started to fall in the river and briskly pulled her back onto the Striker. "Calm down okay ?" he said, holding her shoulders tightly.

"Butbutbut-"

"I know. Calm down." Ace said, gently caressing her pale skin as he spoke.

With a comprehensive steadiness, he stared in her wide eyes, causing Eli's frenzy to gradually disperse. Her heart came back where it was suppose to, beating with regularity while the gears in her head started to turn again.

"I'm sorry," Eli said quietly, looking like a little girl who was being scolded.

But Ace wasn't scolding her, not even judging her, and the warm affection that emanated from him wasn't forced. Silently, he pressed a hearty smile on her forehead before returning to the Striker's main seat to propel the raft toward the purple mass of clouds.

"Blue sea dwellers !" A voice called out loudly, causing the pirates to look around for its owner. "You are on my territory."

Soon they found a man standing above them on the branch of a giant tree. He was probably one of the priests that Pagaya had told them about.

"This is the Ordeal of Swamp !"

The tone of his voice was threatening, but the pirates looked rather stupidly at him. At the same time, they tilted their head to the side questioningly.

"Why is he facing the other way ?" Eli asked, placing her hand on her hips, she shifted her weight on her right leg.

"You have a 50% chance of survival, prepare to suffer !"

"I don't know..." Ace shrugged. "Maybe he's just stupid."

"Show yourselves _now_ !" The priest ordered, looking around but still not in their direction

"I think you're right..."

to be continued

* * *

**Betaed by Fox MC.**

_I'm really sorry for the delay, I'm usually more punctual but things got in the way and well... I hope you liked that chapter, though. The first part was pretty hot, eh ? :)_

_And now you know what I planned for the next chapter. A little ordeal just for our two lovers. I hope you'll enjoy it. It'll be published on Monday. I promise._

_See you there~_


	69. The Lovers' Ordeal

**Chapter 69**  
**The Lovers' Ordeal**

It was called the Ordeal of Swamp, but Ordeal of Idiocy would better fit the description of what the two pirates were facing. For a long moment, they silently observed the Upper Yard's priest standing a few meters above them as he was looking for them, his frustrating calls growing louder as the minutes passed. Apparently, the man couldn't see them, yet they could, quite clearly. He seemed tall, maybe around Eli's height. He was wearing a dark purple suit and had white wings on his back, just like the other sky-landers they had met, except that his were slightly bigger. His skin was dark and had black dreadlocks pointing upwards.

While a deep annoyed sigh left her mouth, Eli shook her head. "We should just leave..."

"Are you kidding ?" Ace said with a genuinely surprised look on his face. "But- what about the Ordeal ?"

"What _Ordeal_ ?" Eli pointed at the priest. "The man can't even _see_ us... Let's just go."

"No."

"The others are waiting."

"Let's just pass the damn Ordeal !" Ace insisted.

"What for ?" Eli asked, folding her arms and frowning condescendingly. "You want your revenge on the first-"

"Hey ! Whatever-your-name-is !" Ace yelled out, placing his hands around his mouth and completely ignoring his partner's glare. "We're over here !"

The priest turned around and Ace waved both his arms in a wide motion. This is when that Eli noticed something strange with the priest's eyes; they were wide open, yet, no pupils were to be seen. Completely white, it seems that his orbs were rolled backward.

"Woohooo~" Ace kept on trying to get the priest's attention as he turned his head in every direction. "Your eyes, man ! They're rolled backward !"

Apparently, Ace just _had_ to warn their stupid opponent, and now the priest was, at last, looking at them. He was frowning very deeply, while his arms moved in a strange manner in front of him. Perplex, Eli tilted her head to the side and narrowed her eyes to try and decrypt the man's odd behavior. Was he trying to fold his arms...?

"Blue seas dwellers !" he called out once more, now pointing down at the two pirates. "I am Gedatsu, one of the almighty priests that serve under Enel, and you are here on my territory."

"Oi, oi." Eli made a slight motion with her hand. "You already tol-"

"This is the Ordeal of Swamp !" Gedatsu continued. "You have a 50% chance of survival !"

With a deep sigh, Eli turned her head to look at Ace only to find a mischievous look on his freckled face; he was _actually_ enjoying this. Without a word, the flame user propelled his raft to the shore and the two pirates disembarked under the furious glare of the priest.

Smugly, Ace smiled while he cracked his fingers. "So how does this-"

Nothing prepared Eli for what happened then. Without even waiting for the black-haired pirate to finish his sentence, Gedatsu pierced through the air at an amazing speed. His fist stretched out, he charged toward Ace. Eli barely had time to grab her partner's arm when the priest's fist had already plunged into his chest.

The assailant passed through the logia, turning Ace's body into fire on his path.

Hot, very hot... Burning. With a gasp Eli jerked her hand of his arm feeling flames licking her skin, the pearl she was wearing glowing brightly on the spot. The abrupt motion caused the girl to stumble and crash on her behind while Ace' body gradually turned to flesh and bones again.

His dark eyes blinking rapidly, Ace's gaze trailed from where the priest was previously standing, to the girl slumped on the ground next to him, and finally it ended on the man who was now standing behind him.

"What- what was that ?" the pirate stammered.

"This is the extinct Jet Dial !" Gedatsu said showing his elbow. The fabric of his vest was torn, revealing a seashell. Coils of smoke were spreading from the shell. "It greatly increases the speed and power of my punch." Lifting his hand to the side of his head, he scratched his temple thoughtfully. "I was sure I hit you though..."

Until then, the pirates were only informed of the use of Dials in everyday life, but now they knew that they could also be employed for fighting, and their powers exceeded what their minds conceived. As she replayed the scene in her now calmed mind, Eli reckoned that the man's speed surpassed anything she had seen before apart from herself.

_So that's the power of the Dials..._

Fixing his hat on his head, Ace's face had lost his previous smugness; he was serious now.

"Jet..." Gedatsu stretched his fist in the pirate's direction. "PUNCH !"

This time, Ace avoided the hit. His hair and red shirt were blown away as the priest burst before him. The pirate threw his clenched fist toward his assailant but missed him as he was already a few meters away a split second later.

Once he had came to a stop, Gedatsu propelled himself in the air, a trail of smoke forming from under his heels.

"Is that..." Eli made a rolling motion with her hand, "the Ordeal of Swamp...?"

Floating high above the pirates, he rolled his arms once again ineffectively folding them a few times before stretching an open palm in the direction of his opponents. "Take a look around," Gedatsu said loudly. "My territory is filled with swamp-cloud traps and once you are trapped in, you will never get out."

Her gaze now traveling around them, Eli saw puddles of purple clouds scattered on the ground. Was that what the priest called the swamp-cloud traps ? As she observed her surroundings, she noticed that they were pretty much surrounded by those purple fluffy masses of all shapes and sizes.

"All I have to do is not step in those then." A little smirk crept on Ace's lips. "Thanks for the warning mate," he said and tipped the brim of his orange hat.

"Fool !" Gedatsu stretched both his hands upward. "No one can escape the swamp !"

With a low blowing sound, coils of purple smoke were released from his open palms. Gathering above the priest's head, they formed a large cloud. After a few seconds, Gedatsu grabbed the cloud and launched it toward the pirates.

Ace and Eli avoided the cloud quite easily but, as if he had predicted were the flame user would jump to; Gedatsu had already jetted himself in his direction. In a flash, his fist pierced through the pirate's chest and came to a stop a few meters behind him. Mumbles elevated from his figure as he took off, once more avoiding Ace's counter attack.

This time, the priest aimed for Eli. Thanks to her speed, she easily avoided the cloud. The aim of the blow that ensued was, once more, perfect; how did the priest managed to predict with such accuracy where his opponent would flee ? Not wasting her precious time to ponder that question, the paramecia threw her leg at Gedatsu's back, jerking him a few meters away before he took off the forest's floor once again.

As he stared with wide-open eyes at Eli from above, his face displayed a mysterious and creepy wince. Tears forming on his orbs; it seemed that he prevented his eyes from blinking.

"How can you both escape my mantra ?" he said so quietly that the pirates wasn't quite sure he was talking to them or himself.

"_Mantra_...?" Eli asked.

"Oi !" A frown on his face, Ace grabbed the girl's shoulders and turned her to face him. "It's my fight, Twig."

"Mantra is a voice..."

"What !" Eli swept Ace hands off her. "It's _our_ ordeal."

"... only true believers..."

"Don't get me started, Eli." Ace took a deep intake of air, his partially bare chest swelling up; he looked like an angry primate. "I'll do the fighting !" he stated, pointing a thumb to his chest.

Through her mind boiling with rage, Eli noticed that the priest's voice had gone silent. After giving Ace a scornful huff, making sure he knew that despite her silence she was disapproving his chauvinist attitude, she slowly gave her neck a roll to face upward.

Purple.

That was all her mind could form, since it was all she could see. Gedatsu had launched another cloud and it was a breath away from the paramecia's frightened face.

With a gasp that blocked into her throat, Eli crouched and rolled to the side. Quickly her face jerked in all direction in search for the priest, but this once, he was still up in the air, forming another cloud, before launching it in Ace's direction. The two pirates watched wordlessly as Gedatsu kept throwing swamp-clouds, one after the other.

"He's filling the place with those clouds !" Eli realized loudly, before dodging yet another purple fluff.

To avoid the threat the two pirates climbed on a tree. Eli ran along the huge trunk while Ace jumped as high as he could and managed to grab the first branch, which was a dozen meters above the ground.

As soon as he planted his feet on the trunk, Eli caught his wrist and ran so fast along the branches that the flame user could barely keep up the pace. They jumped from a tree to another and managed to hide from Gedatsu who was mumbling very indistinctly, as he was sucking his bottom lip as he spoke.

"That's a strange man..." Eli said quietly as she peeked stealthily at the priest. Turning around she folded her arms, a grave look on her face. "We have to do this _together_."

"No-" Ace was hushed as Eli placed her palm on his mouth. With a roll of his eyes, he removed the hand. "I'll fight and you stay here."

"I thought you said I could fight," she said and as Ace looked rather skeptical, she sighed. "In the Merry." The young man tilted his head to the side questioningly. "In the crow's-nest, right after being a real ass and right before being an ass again." Eli made motions with her hands to illustrate the timeline.

"Ohhh..." A smirk crept on his freckled face. "You were _actually_ listening then," Ace said smugly.

"Don't !" Eli gave his shoulder a slap. "I don't understand, we fought everyday in Fuschia and even after. Why are you acting like a jerk now ?"

"Things are different now." Ace took a step in her direction and curled his fingers around Eli's thin arms. "You're my girl and I don't want you to get hurt."

Eli's heart leaped out of her chest at the 'my girl' part and barely heard the rest of the sentence.

"I'm a pirate Ace !" she stated, holding his gentle gaze with steadiness that was hard to keep as she felt her cheeks burning up in a bit rage and a lot of embarrassment. "I can both fight and be your..." The word got stuck in her throat making Eli swallow dryly. "... _girl_," she finished almost inaudibly.

His large hands slid up her arms to cup her cheeks as Ace pressed his lips on hers and then, suddenly, the world became a much nicer place. Even though she could feel the amusement in his kiss, the pirate girl didn't give a damn. The words 'danger', 'ordeal' and other dangerous warnings resonated for a few seconds in Eli's mind before being hushed as the young man invaded her head. The girl let her fingers settle on the warm skin of his chest as Ace's lips moved sensually against her own.

"You can't hide from me !"

The hot contact broke as Ace jerked away from Eli. With a growl, resembling very much to a bear cry, he jumped onto the priest who nearly got kicked. The black-haired pirate caught hold of a branch to stop his fall. He performed a somersault and, as the priest launched himself in his direction, he jumped from a branch to another, swiftly evading Gedatsu's jet punches.

Eli ran up the trunk of her own tree. As she reached the top within a split second, she watched carefully the two men's movements. The priest wasn't supposed to see her, yet, out of the blue, he turned his wrath against the girl.

"Don't try to escape !" Gedatsu yelled, rage painted across his tanned face.

With a loud war cry, he propelled himself in her direction and Eli didn't make a move. The world had slowed down. Every leaf fluttering on his way in slow motion, the space she was in was soft, even the sounds were much lower. The only thing the paramecia could clearly hear was her own heartbeats; fast and strong, they gave her the countdown. Ten, nine. He was close, his fist stretched out was directly aiming for her face and Eli didn't move. Six, five. The paramecia felt the muscles of her legs tensing, ready to jump. Three, two. His fist was so close to her eyes that she could see the bones of his knuckle under the leather of his gloves, and Eli didn't move. One. She felt a brush on her skin, this close there was no way he could change his direction. Zero. Eli jumped to the side and kicked Gedatsu in the ribs so fast she could feel the friction of the air burning on skin before coming in contact with the man's body. Hard as steel, the two bodies smacked with a loud blunt sound.

Wincing in pain, Eli stumbled and took grip of a branch. Her head snapped around to see if she had managed to send the priest toward Ace. But, to her dismay, Gedatsu was very far from the flame user and despite his urge to catch him in flight; the young man wasn't fast enough.

Floating once more out of their reach, the priest gave his head a roll. "That's useless," he said scornfully glaring at Eli.

Now settled against the trunk, Eli nursed her leg. But the priest wasn't as hurt as the girl who gave him the blow. Once more, he pointed his fist at her. The paramecia gritted her teeth and stood up, ready to try again.

"Use your right leg !" Ace yelled from behind the priest, stopping the man's rush on the spot. "You're lefty ! Use the other leg !"

"What ?" Eli yelled back and the priest shifted his gaze back at her. "That doesn't even make sense !"

"Just do it !" Ace insisted.

"No matter how much you struggle, you wont get out of the Ordeal of Swamp alive." Gedatsu said threateningly.

With a grunt, the priest pointed at Eli with his fist and surged in her direction.

_Right leg, use the right,_ Eli repeated inwardly while tensing the muscle of her right leg.

She shot her foot in Gedatsu's chest, aiming for Ace behind him. A loud gasp blurted, the priest was thrown away in the pirate's direction. Yet, the blow wasn't strong enough and, a meter before reaching the flame user's range, he flew upward.

This wasn't good, Eli could feel it from her frantic heartbeats as well as the burning sensation in her muscles; she was starting to get tired. For the past few days, the pirates barely had time to sleep and her rest-deprived body was reaching its limits. They had to put an end to the fight soon or else she would be at the priest's mercy.

In a flash, she ran to Ace's side. "Freckles," she whispered, making the black-eyed young man startle at her sudden apparition. "Go down."

"What-"

A purple cloud thrown at them separated the two pirates.

"JUST DO IT !" Eli ordered before running away.

In a split second, she was already a kilometer away from the fight. Standing on a branch in the middle of the forest, the paramecia gave herself a minute to catch her breath. Slowly, she bent forward and massaged the sore muscles of her legs. Blood was pounding throughout her body, hot and strained, she was in pain but nothing she couldn't cope up with she told herself.

From afar, she heard a loud crashing sound and, as her head snapped in the direction of the sound, she saw one of the huge trees falling gradually. A wrench of guilt dug into her insides; Eli hoped that Ace was all right and that he understood that she wasn't abandoning him.

With a slow intake of air, she clenched her fists, a cracking sound resonating from under her skin as she did. She breathed out slowly and closed her eyes while trying to ease her rushing mind. They could do this, she knew it in her guts and that feeling never failed her.

Her jade eyes, snapped open and Eli dashed back where the priest and Ace were. The flame user was standing on the ground, slightly panting, but nothing to make her worry. In a split heartbeat, she took a run-up along the trees and branches and soared in the air.

The priest made a motion to turn around but it was too late, the pirated girl clung onto his back like a starving leech. She wrapped her powerful legs around his waist, tightening her embrace as strongly as she could. Caught in a vice, strangled noises escaped the man throat, while he tried desperately to grabbed the girl.

"What the HELL are you doing ?" Ace screamed bewilderingly from below. "ELI !"

"You know baseball, Ace ?"

"What ?"

The paramecia grabbed Gedatsu's struggling arms and held them backward; he was immobilized. As she pushed his arms a bit upward, pained cries made their way to her ears. Eli winced at the thudding pain in her tensed arms and pushed a bit more, just a bit... _more_.

"I'm the pitcher !"

"The WHAT ?"

A quiet explosion, smoke, and then wind sweeping with force on her face; she had managed to activate the Jet Dial.

"The PITCHER !" Eli yelled.

A tree reflecting in her wide-open eyes, the jade of her orbs darkened. With her teeth greeted so strongly she could hear a muffled crumbling inside of her ears, Eli pulled Gedatsu's arms to the right, effectively avoiding the giant trunk. Wood grazing on her shoulder, she breathed out the air she had been holding in her lungs.

"You're the batter !"

Sticking the tip of her tongue out while trying to ignore the death treats of her 'vehicle', Eli was flying at great speed in the forest. Zigzagging swiftly between the trees, she was gradually getting the hang of it. But even if he was locked in a painful position, Gedatsu didn't stop struggling. The girl's limbs were trembling upon the heavy pressure she inflicted to her muscles.

"And guess who's the ball ?" the girl asked quietly as they soared into the sky.

Her words were directed to the priest and his only reply was a threatening growl while his strive only caused the girl to tighten her forceful embrace on his waist.

As she performed a u-turn, Eli uttered a long, growing snarl. Sweat building all over her burning body, the pain was nearly unbearable, and so, she knew that she only had one chance. The girl and the priest jetted in Ace's direction. His dark eyes focused on them, the young man drew his right arm behind him. His fist clenched, he remained in that position, a grave look on his freckles face.

Her wind-swept hair fluttered wildly as the paramecia dashed down. She approached from Ace and her heartbeats became louder and harder, hammering with force against her ribcage. Eli adjusted the speed so that Ace wouldn't miss this one time chance. He was close and closer, not blinking, his eyes clung onto the priest.

A meter away from him, she saw the muscles of Ace's strong jaws tensing. His usual carefree, sometimes childish, others smug face was grave, handsome, and dark. It wasn't a leap of faith. Staring intensely at his face, the paramecia's fears and doubts were hushed; she trusted him, he trusted her, and she could feel their bond stronger than ever before as she rushed in his direction.

_Now !_

Ace threw his fist toward the priest's ribs and Eli unwrapped her thighs. As she fell backward, the paramecia saw his fist coming in contact with Gedatsu's body, and deeper. There was a cracking sound; the priest's bones breaking under the forceful blow, and Eli felt a wave of air sweeping on her with the blast. Deeper, the man gasped as Ace's fist penetrated through his ribcage.

As she hit the ground, Gedatsu was hurled a dozen of meters away. He went through a tree and another. A third trunk was pierced by the man's body before he ended his course into a rocky cliff, engraved a few meters into the stone.

Her muscles were shaken by rapid spasms as Eli stared with wide eyes at the holes in the giant trees and in the cliff. Her mouth agape, she was panting erratically, her throat searing upon the passage of air to her burning lungs as her mind filled with dreadful awe. Never had she witnessed such a terrible display of strength and, as her jade eyes trailed up the body of the man she loved, the girl couldn't help but feeling a bit threatened by such a monstrous force.

It was... out of this world.

A large grin brightening his freckled face, Ace held out his arm for the girl to stand up, and as she stared wordlessly at his large hand, Eli gulped dryly. Surely, he could crush her, easily in fact, her body was weak, or rather, _common_ but him... he was a demon and if she had made the slightest mistake, if she had let go of the priest a second too late... The girl's frail body would have been crushed to pieces.

"Eli ?" Ace crouched next to the girl, the warmth that had once left his gaze now gleaming again in the darkness of his eyes. "Are you okay ?"

Swallowing hard again, her breaths had became more regular and, if slower, her heart was still beating hard in her trembling chest.

"How are your legs ?" he asked, his eyes shifting from her face to her trembling thighs.

"Fine."

His large hands curled around her spindly calves, calming the spasms as he did. Eli gazed at Ace while he nursed her legs and then she wondered, how those same hands could be so deadly and gentle at the same time ?

"You haven't changed," Ace said quietly as he raised his face to look at Eli. "Still the same twig." He grinned.

He grinned and his smile felt warm inside of her. As she watched him smiling at her, Eli felt an urge taking over her. On the spot, she found herself leaning against him. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and nestled her face in his broad neck.

"You did..."

Eli wasn't quite sure if he had heard him, she wasn't even sure if she had mouthed the words. As she felt Ace returning her embrace, the girl closed her eyes, feeling safe in the broad arms of the man she loved, because she knew that, no matter how strong he was, Ace would never hurt her.

to be continued

* * *

_Fighting scene, my personal Nemesis. I kinda like this one though and I hope that you too. I'll be waiting for your reactions ;)_

_See you on Thursday.._


	70. Aerial Stew

**Chapter 70  
****Aerial Stew**

"You should rest."

Eli jumped up in the air and kicked yet another sky shark away from the Striker. After a few second in the air, the shark hit a tree before collapsing on the ground, unconscious. "I'm fine."

Ace shrugged before pointing at two sharks surging in their direction. A deep exasperated sigh flew from her mouth as Eli glared at the belligerent fishes. Ever since they had resumed their course through the Upper Yard to meet with their crewmates, about half an hour had passed. The sun was already setting and so the luminosity was reducing on the holy land. On the other side, it seemed that the number of creatures attacking the raft only increased exponentially. The cool and refreshing breeze caressing the pirates' bodies had become disagreeably freezing and Eli felt that her weakened body wouldn't hold much longer. Yet, even though they had successfully passed their ordeal, the pirates had no idea what was waiting for them. And so, they kept advancing on the cloud road, hoping to soon see their friends safe and sound.

"Can you hear that ?" Ace asked. Looking around he raised his finger.

Silent, the pirates strained their ears, a gushing sound arising in the direction they were going to; it could only mean one thing, one _dreadful_ thing.

"Waterfall !" they both said in unison, looking at each other with wide bewildered eyes.

Their heads snapping forward, they saw a white haze veiling their route. On the spot, Eli dashed to the back of the Striker and tightly wrapped her arms around the mast. Deafening, the sound of the waterfall increased as they got closer, faster, the strong current increasing their speed but not only, huge flames bursting from his feet, Ace was propelling the raft toward the threatening obstacle as fast as he could.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING ?" Eli yelled, hoping that Ace could hear her above the thunderous sound of water crashing down. "HOI !" Hugging the mast, she reached out her hand and tapped the flame user's shoulder repeatedly.

But Ace didn't turn his head and not a sound left his mouth as the young man's dark eyes focused on the end of the cloud road.

As they burst into the haze, water covered the both of them; Ace's flames extinguishing in the humid atmosphere. Yet, and even though the rotor wasn't alimented anymore, the Striker surged through the moist mist and was hurled in the air.

They were in a large open space, four waterfalls crashing into a large lake. For a few seconds, the raft flew forward, Eli's shrieks fading as they quickly lost their previous velocity until the plummeted downward. Whiteness filling her mind and ears, the girl clawed on the mast, gritting her teeth as she did. Her feet lifted off the floor while the hair fluttered upward. After a few, frantic heartbeats, the Striker hit the surface of the lake with a loud splashing sound. Eli was whipped against the mast as the raft stabilized on the water as well as the mind of the pirate girl.

In the middle of the fluffy lake there was an altar and, on top of it, the Merry. Eli's eyes widened as she stared voicelessly at the little ship; on its board, no pirates were to be seen and the main mast was gone.

Worry bursting into her chest causing her heart to pound with force against her ribcage, Eli dashed on the surface of the lake and climbed the altar's stairs in a split second.

"Chopper ! Robin !" Placing her hands around her mouth, the pirate girl yelled out, desperately looking around for her crewmates. "Zoro ! Nami !"

Her footfalls resonated on the deck as Eli walked from a side of the Merry to the other. Swiftly running up the stairs, she opened the lounge's door, calling out the names of her crewmates before dashing to the reserve. _Where are they...?_ The girl bit on her bottom lip while her eyes quickly scanned the empty males' quarters.

"ACE ! ELI !"

To the sound of her dear captain's voice, Eli's head snapped up, prairie-dogging in search for the teen. On the lake's shore, Luffy was waving cheerfully, a large grin on his childish face.

"We're here !" he yelled, Chopper appearing to his side.

A bright sensation of relief washed over the girl upon seeing her crewmates safe and sound. Grinning back at them, she dashed on the lake, appearing in a flash in front of the two teenagers.

"I'm so glad you're okay," Eli said, hugging tightly on the little reindeer. "I'm sorry I wasn't here, Chopper..."

"Elisabeth~" Sanji popped from behind a tree, his arms and legs wriggling as he gamboled to the girl. "I'm fine too~" he said, his arms wide open.

Eli let go of the little reindeer and stood up. Chuckling, she watched Sanji's loving face while his arms remained open; obviously, he was waiting for a hug as well.

"Hey Zoro, Sanji wants a hug," Ace said smugly, watching the whole scene with amusement.

Things became so noisy then. A furious Sanji barked insults toward both Zoro and Ace; they mixed with the swordsman's harsh grunts and Ace's loud laughs. Luffy and Chopper's giggles, Usopp's smart remarks, Nami's annoyed grumbles, and Eli and Robin's lovely laughs... Despite the bandages and the bruises covering their bodies, they were all fine. Laughing with each other like they always did. They were all fine and happy to be together again.

For that night, the pirates had decided to camp on the ground. Sanji was preparing a huge amount food for the whole group, a boiled dinner with all kind of meat and vegetable found on Upper Yard.

While they strolled though the giant forest in search for ingredients, Chopper told Eli that he had been attacked by a priest when he was guarding the Merry. It was during their fight that the main mast of the little ship was destroyed. Ashamed, the little reindeer, told the girl that he had called the knight of the sky to help him. The fight was fierce and the knight ended badly injured.

During their harvest, the two pirates found some medical herbs, aloe vera, and garlic and, as they came back to the encampment, a bright smile on his cute face, the little doctor dashed off to Gan Fall's side to take care of his unconscious savior.

The rest of the crew was helping Sanji with the diner, except for Nami who was apparently working on a map, and the two D brothers who were engulfing a whole roasted sky shark.

"It's ready !" Sanji said.

Inhaling the exquisite smell of the stew, the pirates were slightly drooling as they sat down.

"Everyone's here ?" As the cook served the bowls, Nami called for the pirates' attention. "Let's review the content of Norland's log book." Wearing her glasses, the redhead looked like a teacher. "Four hundred years ago, he found a city of gold on the Island of Jaya."

Wordlessly, the pirates nodded before eagerly digging into the their large bowls of stew.

"But when he came back a few years ago, the golden city had vanished without a trace," Nami said. "During our exploration, Robin, Zoro and I found the other side of Montblanc's house on the seaside cliff-"

Eli choke on a chunk of carrot. "_What !_" she said with a strangled voice. Hitting her chest with her fist, the girl managed to clear her throat. "You mean that we're on _Jaya_ ?"

Nami nodded. "The knock-up stream must have propelled this part of the island in the sky four hundred years ago."

Speechless, Eli stared at the redhead. Was that even possible ? What kind of monstrous stream must have occurred to manage to tear an island apart ? Her bewildered gaze trailing up at the huge trees, and down at the ground. The chronicler found, at last, the answer to the question that had been pertaining in mind while approaching the Upper Yard. Earth did not form in the sky; it was brought here.

On the spot, the chronicler put away her bowl of stew and took her logbook to write down those theories. "There is probably something in the sea cloud that had enhanced the plants and animals growth," Eli said.

"Yes," Robin said. "And the golden city must be hidden in this thick greenery."

Eli nodded thoughtfully. The chronicler was so focused and amazed at those revelations that she didn't notice Luffy who was stealing her bowl of stew.

"Oi, Luffy !" Ace slapped the rubber boy's hand.

"And the south bird that saved us was this _big_ !" Chopper said, stretching his little arms as far apart as possible.

"But she doesn't even touch it..." Luffy pouted, nursing his hand.

"The south bird saved you ?" Eli said, raising her face from her book. "How cute~"

A ruckus caused the jade-eyes girl to turn her head around. Eli tilted her head to the side as she watched questioningly Ace and Luffy somehow _fighting_...

"It's _her_ food idiot !" Ace said harshly.

Eli smiled warmly at the black eyed young man and picked up her bowl and spoon. "Thanks."

"Haha." Ace scratched the back of his head with a sheepish laugh while pushing his young sibling away with his free hand. "It's nothing..."

A stupid smile on their faces, the two lovers gazed at each other, deeply, until the sound of someone clearing his throat, _extremely_ loudly, snapped them out of their slight loving daze.

"Why did those birds save you ?" Sanji ask Chopper while glaring at the raven-haired pirate.

"I don't know..." Chopper looked in Gan Fall's direction thoughtfully. "But they called the knight 'God'..."

"_GOD_ !" Luffy yelled. "So I have to kick that old man's ass ?"

"Of course not, moron..." Usopp muttered.

"Anyway !" Nami adjusted her glasses on her nose. "You remember the last sentence in Norland's logbook ?"

"_In the skull's right eye, gold is seen,_" Robin said.

"Exactly !" Nami claimed, startling the group with her loud cheerfulness. "Take a look at this." The navigator produced two sheets of paper and affixed them together before turning them around. "I combined Jaya's map with Skypiea's."

The pirates' eyes widened as they leaned in the maps' direction. The two of them combined perfectly in one and only island that had the shape of a skull.

Usopp scrambled over to Nami, looking at the maps with wide amazed eyes. "So the skull's right eye is..."

"This place !" The navigator pointed before standing up. "We'll go straight to this point tomorrow !" Nami's eyes chestnut eyes were sparkling as she spoke. "We'll split into two groups. The first one will take care of getting the Merry out of the Upper Yard, while the other will search for the golden city."

Nami's money-lusty endeavor raised the pirates' spirits higher than ever before. They gathered all the wood they could find and made a huge woodpile. As their laughs pervaded through the giant forest, a pack of wolves soon joined the joyous group for their improvised party in the holy woods.

Sitting by the campfire's side, the fire reflected in Eli's jade eyes. With a smile on her face, she gazed at Luffy, Chopper, and Usopp who were dancing with the wolves, until the sound of Sanji's bewildered screams reached her ears. Looking in his direction, she saw the young man _literally_ burning up with rage in front of a very amused Ace. A sigh left her mouth as she observed the blond making wide, and quite threatening, motions with his arms.

For a moment, she considered whether or not she should intervene in this umpteenth quarrel and, as his yells grew louder, Eli stood up.

"Hey," she said quietly, the cook spinning on his heels on the spot. "What's up ?"

"Elisabeth~" His hands clasped to his face, Sanji's cigarette started producing heart shaped smoke. "Are you still hungry ? There is a lot of stew left if you like."

"Oi !" Ace frowned. "You told me it was empty not a minute ago."

With a scornful huff, the cook grabbed the flame user's bowl and walked over to the large pot. As he filled the two bowls, Eli sat down by Ace's side.

"What happened ?" she asked quietly.

"I told you, he's jealous..."

Eli rolled her eyes quite greatly before setting her gaze on his freckled face. "How could that be ? He doesn't even-"

"Here Elisabeth~" Sanji handed Eli her bowl and threw Ace his.

"Thanks." The girl gave the cook a smile before plunging her spoon in the stew.

As she brought the mouthful to her lips, the strong scent of the dish reached her nostrils and, already, her mind's hunger was fulfilled with this delicious smell. As the taste burst onto her tongue, a delighted smile crept on her lips while her eyes glimmered with pleasure.

It was as she brought another spoon to her mouth that Eli noticed how quiet the two pirates were. Her jade gaze lifted from the stew to peer at them, her eyes widening slightly as she saw that they were staring at her.

"What ?" she asked, before engulfing the spoon's content.

"Nothing, nothing," they both said in unison. Silent again, they glared at each other.

"Sanji..." Eli called out quietly. "Are you aware that a wolf is hitting on Nami ?"

"WHAT ?" Swirling like a shot, the blonde's keen eye localized the redhead in a split second, a grumble resonating from behind his greeted teeth as he watched a sky wolf swooning over the navigator. "Be right back," he mumbled as he made his way through the joyous crowd partying around the campfire.

"So tell me, Freckles," Eli began, interrupting the young man's scoffed chuckles. "How could Sanji be jealous of something he doesn't know."

"I told him."

"You _WHAT_ ?"

"I told him," Ace repeated, cocking an eyebrow at the girl's loud reaction. "Why are you angry ?"

"Why- what ? ...You !" Eli's face flushed as she peered at the blond from the corner of her eye. "Why did you do that, moron ?" She slapped Ace shoulder.

"What the hell ?" Ace frowned. "Because it's true, duh !"

"You could have lied !" Eli whispered harshly.

Pushing his empty bowl aside, the young man stared at the embarrassed girl. Something akin to anger stirring inside of his dark orbs, Eli saw his jaw clenching.

"Are you _ashamed_ that we're together ?"

"Shhhhhh !" Eli hushed the young man slamming her palm on his mouth. Rapidly, her gaze scanned her surroundings to make sure that none of their crewmates could hear their private discussion.

On the spot, Ace grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand away from his mouth. "You are ! You are _ashamed_ !" he said harshly, even louder than before. "I thought you wanted this too Eli !"

"I do..." Eli said quietly. Discreetly, she settled a hand next to his, her little finger lightly caressing his skin in hope to calm his anger. "But it's all so new and... strange."

"_Strange_ ?"

"I'm still not used to this and I don't want _them_ to know yet," she murmured glancing over to the other pirates.

"And why is that ?" Ace's ire was painted across his freckles face and it seemed that, despite her attempts to ease him, Eli only made him even angrier. "In case you change your mind ?"

"Of course not." A frown on her face, Eli couldn't quite believe how insulting Ace had just sounded. "Don't be silly."

"I'm the silly one ?" Ace stood up briskly and turned around towering over the girl. "Come to me when you made up you mind, Eli !"

Without another word, the flame user walked to the other side of the campfire, leaving Eli alone to her bowl of stew.

"No, you're the silly one..." Eli muttered, a childish pouting look on her face.

* * *

_Walking up to her favorite cliff, Eli was surprised to find a child's figure's sitting at the edge. As she approached, the Sutan girl saw that said child was a little girl. Her rave hair fluttering upon a warm salty breeze, she was facing the sea._

"_Hey," Eli called out, a few meters away from the girl. Slowly, she turned her head around, her big blue eyes setting on the Sutan's green ones. "What's your name ?"_

"_... I'm Robin," she replied quietly, lifting a little hand to her windswept hair._

"_Nice to meet you, Robin." A hearty smile on her face Eli crouched down next to the girl. "I'm Elisabeth."_

_Silently, Robin's blue gaze studied the Sutan girl before trailing behind her figure. "Are you going to burn them all ?"_

_Eli turned her head over her shoulder and looked at the pile of wood and corpses raising high above the ground, a large swarm of flies flying all around, attracted by the stench of the decomposing bodies._

"_Of course." A large grin on her face, streams of tears poured from Eli's jade eyes as she turned her head around to look at Robin. "They'll only rest in peace among the stars."_

* * *

"EliEliEliEliEliEliEliEli !"

Shaken violently fore and aft, the girl squeezed and spread her eyelids several times before managing to recognize Usopp in her hazed filed of vision. A frightened look on his face, the teen was shaking his crewmate like a rag doll, while murmuring her name over and over again.

"Wha-a-a-t ?" she managed to say despite her laden tongue.

A sigh flew from his mouth as Usopp released, at last, the girl from his tight grip. "You were having a nightmare," he said. Pointing a thumb at his chest, he grinned widely. "And captain Usopp came to save you !"

Blinking a few times, Eli ran a hand through her short hair. "Thanks..." Her heart was pounding wildly in her chest, and the girl wasn't quite sure if it was caused by her dream or the frantic waking up. "I guess..." she muttered.

"Are you okay ? Do you want to walk a bit ?"

Surprised by his friendly offer, Eli sat up and titled her head to the side questioningly. As she peered at the long-nosed pirate face intensely, she felt something strange and very familiar emanating from his stiff face.

"Why are you... afraid ?" she asked.

"Nonono not at all..." With a sheepish laugh, Usopp averted her intrusive, jade gaze. "Since you just had a nightmare and I wanted to take a leak-"

"What ?" Eli's eyes widened like large plate as she stared in a befuddle manner at the teen. "Go ask one of the boys, _chicken_ !"

"But _I am_ asking a boy-OW!" Usopp rubbed his shoulder after receiving a punch from the angry girl. "Okay okay... I'll go alone."

Eli glared at the teen as he sheepishly walked away until he disappeared behind a large tree. With a deep sigh, she let herself fall on her back and covered her cold body with her sleeping bag. She was very awake now and, as her eyes gazed at the thick forest's canopy, the girl tried to remember the content of her dream.

It was her home country. Her comfort place on a cliff overhanging the ocean... Robin was here. A little Robin, the same as the one she had seen on her poster. Rolling her head to the side, Eli looked at the archaeologist's sleeping figure wrapped into her sleeping bag.

_What a strange dream..._

Even if the memory of the dream was very vague, a disagreeable sentiment remained imprinted in her mind and under her skin. As she looked back at the past few days, the Sutan girl couldn't help but think that those reminiscences were because of Ace.

For years she had managed to put everything aside, but now, the phantoms of her past came to haunt her more and more often. Was that her conscience's doing ? Was it because she had to tell him ?

Despite being wrapped into her thick and warm sleeping bag, Eli felt cold and soon, she found herself searching Ace. But the young man was nowhere to be seen and the girl's mind started to stir annoying. For years she had faced her fears alone. For years, she had managed to bury those every painful memories deep inside, hiding the pain behind a cheerful mask, but now... Now, and for the first time, they were back, because of him and now she needed him.

How troublesome.

Out of anxiety, Eli finally stood up. Stealthily, she made her way though the bodies of her crewmates sleeping on the ground and scanned the dark area. Narrowing her eyes, she searched for a glimpse of the flame user and, at the moment her jade gaze fell on his orange hat resting on the soil behind a tree, Eli felt expectancy stirring in her guts.

Swiftly, she tiptoed in his direction, a wave of relief washing over her as she saw Ace sound asleep. Light snores rising from his sleeping figure, a smile appeared on her face and, without giving it a second thought, she slipped inside of his sleeping bag. Wrapping herself around him, Eli enjoyed his warmth with a little moan and buried her face in his neck, the disagreeable aftertaste of her dream vaporizing within his familiar heat.

"...Eli...?"

The girl gave a little sigh. Somehow she had wished that he would remain asleep.

Ace turned around to face her and Eli smiled upon seeing his lovely, freckled face. "Hey," she said quietly. "Sorry I woke you."

"It's okay." Ace yawned and stared at the smiling girl. "What will the others think if they find you here...?"

Eli pressed her chest against his and sighed again. "I'll leave before they wake up...?"

"You ?" Ace huffed. "You're always the last one to wake up."

"Don't be like that..." she said quietly, feeling a slight wrench on her heart.

Very obviously, he was still angry, and somewhere Eli knew that she couldn't blame him but she wished that he could understand her.

"I want this... It's just that I don't want them to get involved." Eli shifted her head to look at him, trying to conceal the sad look on her face with a little smile. "I just want to be with you, Ace..."

Wordlessly, Ace gazed deeply into her green eyes, something warm fluttering in his dark ones.

"Eli... I..." Gently, he brought his hands to her cheeks and pressed his forehead on hers. "I've wanted this for a long time now... I..."

"Me too." Pressing her lips on his, Eli kissed him tenderly. "I'm sorry..."

On the holy land of Skypiea the two pirates in love slept in each other arms and a few hours later, under the first rays of the morning sun, Ace was the first to wake up, leaving the embrace of the pirate girl and protecting the secrecy of their love.

to be continued

* * *

_Not really satisfied (again) and sorry for the delay (again). I'm trying to get over a writer block and thanks to some of you (you know who you are), it's gradually fading away. Thanks :D_

_You can go read Twig 18 now :)_


	71. Treasure Hunters

**Chapter 71**  
**Treasure Hunters**

During the breakfast, Eli kept a curious eye on Sanji. If the cook was aware of his two crewmates' loving relationship, then it was very obvious that he wasn't acknowledging it, far from that; the heavy glares, the harsh tone of his voice, and even the insults, it seemed that the blond put all the blame on the freckled young man. His behavior might have been amusing from an external point of view, but to Eli's green eyes, it was rather painful.

The girl loved the chivalrous pirate, he was a great teammate, a wonderful cook with legendary skills, and an understanding friend. Almost as soon as she had met him at the Baratie, Eli held Sanji dearly. Once she got used to his flirty behavior, the young man had shown that he was more than just a womanizer. He was so much more. His boundless kindness, his strength, and the childish glimmer flickering in his eyes when he talked about his dream of All Blue; Eli trusted him and she loved him. Therefore, seeing his blue eyes burning with hatred whenever they set on Ace only caused her heart to squeeze painfully.

It was childish, it was stupid, and this anger was definitely unfounded, therefore Eli decided that she had to put an end to it, even if she died of embarrassment in the process.

"I'll help you with the dishes," she offered, handing Sanji her bowl.

"Thanks but it's okay, Elisabeth," he said. "I don't want those beautiful hands to get dirty."

At the comment, Eli rolled her eyes and followed the cook to a nearby stream of fresh and cloudy water.

"We have to talk, Sanji," she said gravely, crouching by his side. "It's about... Ace and-"

A brutal cracking sound got the girl's attention to the cook's hands; he had just crushed a bowl with his bare hands. Stiffly, he turned his head and beamed at her. "_Whaaaat_ ?"

Eli cleared her throat and set her gaze upward as she found herself rather uncomfortable under his crazy eyes. "It's about Ace and I-"

Another bowl broke and Eli felt the speed of her heartbeats increasing on the spot while she kept her face averted. Gathering her courage, the girl took a deep intake of air as she sat down on the ground. With a slow breath, she set her green gaze on the blonde's.

"I-" Eli cut herself short, seeing the young man burning up with rage.

Apparently, with every last of her words, she only aroused his ire, yet, she had to talk to him. With a hard gulp, Eli swallowed back her fears, the words, however, had yet to reach to her laden mouth. What could she say ? That he was stupid ? That it was none of this business ? Even though that was all very true, it wasn't serving her purpose. What Eli wanted was for her friend to accept the situation and, even though it was probably a bit selfish, she wanted him to be happy for her because nothing had ever made her so happy as being with Ace.

"I love him." The words finally flew from her lips, easily.

There was a silence then, a pure and calm silence, light and clear for it was the first time Eli had mouthed her feelings for Ace. If her face was previously clouded with many emotions, now it illuminated as the girl felt the smile on her face. She felt the warmth gently fluttering inside of her. She felt her regular heartbeats and with every pounding, she felt that it was right.

_I love him_, she repeated inwardly with a clearness that was very rare of her.

Sanji was speechless, but no more bowls were crushed. The anger in his dark blue orbs had extinguished, and with his mouth slightly agape, the cook stared deeply into the green of her eyes.

"I really do," Eli said, wallowing in the warm and brilliant sensation swelling inside of her. "And I've never been so happy."

Wordlessly, Sanji's gaze trailed up to the sky. He brought a cigarette to his mouth and lit it. Eli watched his face turn upward as the blond inhaled deeply before slowly blowing out the smoke. As the fume dissipated gradually in the air, the young man set his eyes on hers again.

"Are you sure of this ?" Sanji asked, his seriousness showing how much he cared.

"I am." Eli nodded, beaming at his friend.

Sanji peered at her smile, and slowly, faintly, the corners of his mouth curled up. "Alright then."

Happy as can be. Eli lifted herself up and laid a soft kiss on his forehead. "Thank you," she said warmly.

His face was flushed as Sanji blabbered incoherently, his stupid behavior making the girl chuckle. After giving him a pat on the head, Eli stood up and walked to the rest of her crewmates, very eager to see the man she loved again.

"Elisabeth."

With a little questioning sound, the girl spun on her heel and looked at Sanji's back as the young man had resumed washing the dishes.

"If he hurts you, I will turn his life into hell."

"I hope you will, Sanji." Eli smiled.

* * *

After packing the pirates' belongings, Eli went in search of the rest of the group with Sanji. A ruckus arising from the Merry, they climbed on the little ship, and found it completely repaired. Looking around, the chronicler saw that her crewmates were as amazed as she was, causing the girl to wonder who did this and how he managed to repair the ship in such a small amount of time.

"Usopp." Eli walked up to the teenager. "Was it you who repaired the Merry ?" she asked hesitantly.

"No." Thoughtfully, the long-nosed pirate observed the mast, putting a hand on the metal plates nailed along the wood. "None of us did this..." he said quietly as he turned his head to look at the puzzled girl. "I saw someone here last night Eli... Someone who was repairing Merry."

Blinking a few times, Eli's gaze traveled on the deck. The pirates were all trying to find an explanation for the mysterious phenomenon. A Skypiean ? A ghost ? And the strangest thing of it all was that the Merry had found its original form. The broken wings had been removed, as well as the comb and the wattle that Ace had equipped to the sheep's figurehead. It was as if the one who did this knew the Merry before its arrival on the sky Island.

"Hey Merry." Eli's eyes set on Usopp as he thoughtfully gazed at the figurehead. "Who fixed you last night ?" he asked in a whisper.

As she gazed at Usopp's face, Eli felt that it was one of the first times she saw the long-nosed pirate so serious. Even if she knew that this was because he deeply cared for the little ship, the girl decided that she preferred seeing the marksman mocking, jesting, and lying, rather than with a frown darkening his childish face. Putting a smile on her lips, she patted his back.

"It's nice, isn't it ?" Eli asked. "The one who did this was really nice."

Usopp turned his face to look at Eli, a grin brightening his previously grave face. "Yes, you're right."

Pushing this mystery away, and accepting the offering with a smile, the pirates focused on their respective missions. The group was divided in two; Chopper, Nami, Sanji, and Usopp were the ones who would stir the Merry outside of the Upper Yard while Luffy, Ace, Eli, Robin, and Zoro would search for the lost city of gold.

Gan Fall who was still weak and Pierre, his trusty bird, went with the Merry group as well, Chopper insisting that he wouldn't push himself too hard as long as his wounds hadn't healed.

Filled with excitement and enthusiasm, the pirates split up, setting their rendez-vous point at the north coast of the Upper Yard.

* * *

To numerous occasions, Eli had been exploring through Mont Corvo with Luffy back when she lived in Fuschia, therefore she wasn't surprised to see the rubber teen running, yelling, and singing during the hike, despite the dangerous creatures lurking in the darkness of the sky forest. Robin, however, stared questioningly at the ecstatic captain as he and Zoro started arguing about the direction; of course, the both of them pointed the wrong way.

"Don't worry Robin," Eli said with a smile. "They will find their way... Eventually." The girl stuck the tip of the tongue out as she heard the archaeologist chuckle lightly.

And so, ignoring their careless captain, Ace and Eli walked straight south, leaving the noisy group behind.

"What will you do when we get our hands on that money ?" Eli asked.

Ace made a low thinking sound while he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "The Merry would need reparations, I think."

"Sure ! But it's a whole city of gold, I'm sure we can do more than repair it," Eli said. As she climbed up a pile of rotten trunks , Ace held out his hand to help her. "Maybe we could ask for improvements. Sanji would need a bigger kitchen for example... What ?" the girl asked as she heard some low mumblings resonating from Ace's throat.

"We could ask for our own room !" he said cheerfully, his smile turning a bit devious as a blush made its way to Eli's cheeks.

_Our own room, eh..._ Eli averted the young man's lewd gaze as the images of _what_ they would be doing in that room formed in her mind.

It was when her eyes looked away that they fell on something that caught the chronicler's attention. Turning around completely, she observed a huge sort of trunk questioningly.

"What is that ?" she asked.

Upon hearing no answer from her partner, Eli glanced at Ace, instantly slapping her forehead as she saw the young man asleep on the jungle floor. Her arms crossed, the pirate girl tapped her bicep a few times while gazing at the sleeping flame user. Pondering if she should patiently wait for him or go investigate alone, the girl found herself leaving the snoring young man behind while she walked in the direction of the mysterious 'trunk'.

It was a few meters tall, and the chronicler couldn't see how long it was because of the thick greenery. Its surface seemed rather smooth, but the strangest thing was the pattern that seemed like imprinted on it. It was of a nice turquoise blue overlaid with regular dark blue bands.

Eli startled when she saw the 'trunk' gliding on the ground. Her head snapping around, the head of colossal snake appeared in her field of vision. Its mouth was wide-open spread over two dozen meters, and its tongue, its giant, forked tongue was hovering over Ace. The chronicler remembered then that snakes were supposed to do that in order to 'smell' their prey.

_Prey..._ Eli's eyes widened while her expression morphed into a disgusted wince seeing the humongous snake licking the flame user's sleeping figure with the tip of his pointy tongue. _Eww !_

Facing her disgust, the girl dashed over to her partner. Her heart racing in her chest, she grabbed his arm and tried to pull him away from the snake. But Ace, and a sleeping Ace at that, was still very heavy for the featherweight. Her feet kicked the soil rapidly, a large cloud of dust forming around the two pirates.

One meter was covered when Eli looked over her shoulder. Coughing and blinking as the dust got in her lungs and eyes, she gasped seeing the large mouth threateningly closing on the two of them, darkness covering them on the spot.

"DAMN IT ! ACE !" Eli yelled angrily.

The faint light grew quickly thinner as the jaws came to a close despite the girl's struggle. Once they were sealed in, the snake's head snapped upward, its forked tongue whipping the two pirates down his throat.

While one of her hands tightened on Ace's arm, Eli tried to take a grip on the snake's throat. Her fingers digging on the slippery surface, she growled from behind her gritted teeth as she and Ace kept on slipping deeper, as if they were in a giant and dark slide.

As they finally reached what Eli imaged as the snake's stomach, the girl was fairly surprised to feel how solid the ground felt under her. Blindly, she studied the matter with her fingertips, perplexedly concluding that she was sitting on a floor made of large stone blocks.

The sounds of some quiet grunts had her attention shifting to Ace. Groping around, her hands grazed the flame user's warm skin.

"Uhhh... Was I-"

"YES !" Eli said loudly, her angry cry resonating throughout the snake's stomach. "Yes, you were asleep Ace !"

"Jeez, calm down Twig." As he turned a finger into fire, the little flame cast its light on the two pirates' faces. "Why is it so dark...? And where are we ?"

With a grumble, Eli sat more comfortably on her feet. "You wouldn't believe me..." she muttered, while trying to distinguish something in the darkness.

As Ace set his whole arm ablaze, Eli backed briskly with a gasp.

"Well..." The flame user moved his 'torch' forward, lighting the two pirates surroundings. "It smells like when I was swallowed by this giant toad in Alabasta..."

"Almost..." she replied absently.

Looking around, Eli saw that she and Ace were in what looked like large cave, and all around them, some kind of ruins. Stone walls, doors and windows with vines trailing all over, she wondered a moment if she hadn't been dreaming the giant snake. But with the slight stench titillating her nostrils, the skulls and bones scattered here and there, as well as the slimy walls, she quickly gained enough proofs to remind her that they were, indeed, inside of the snake.

"We're in a giant snake." Eli said as she stood up, letting a sigh fly from her mouth while looking around for the entrance. "And that's all thanks to you..."

Ace stood up as well and placed his large hand on the girl's shoulder.

"I'm sorry." As Ace leaned in her direction, Eli pouted while turning her face away. "Don't be mad," he said, amused, and lay a soft kiss on the girl's cheek.

With a little grunt, Eli made sure that the flame user was aware that she was very annoyed with him, but Ace only seemed amused by her skulking behavior. As he got a little closer, his warmth caressed on her skin, making her tension fade along with her resentment.

Silently, Ace's mouth crept on Eli's cold neck, leaving a soft and warm trail on its path. Another grunt, weaker, resonated from her throat where the young man lavished her skin sluggishly.

"Ace..." she quietly called out, looking absently at the lights and shadows dancing on the ruins cast by the flames of his hand.

"Mmh ?" Ace raised his face from her neck to peer at the girl.

"... We're not making out inside of a snake," she said, staring unwaveringly forward.

From the corner of her eye, Eli distinguished a little smirk on his shaded face. Slowly turning around, she saw the flames reflecting in his obsidian orbs, and underneath, the want. Looking at his eyes, the girl could feel it too, it was warming slightly inside of her, and hotter as Ace resumed kissing her neck.

_What the hell...?_ Feeling excitation shooting up inside of her so easily, the pirate girl's annoyance burst in her mind. They were in one of the most disgusting places she had ever set foot, the stomach of a reptile, and this was all because of him. She was angry at him, and now, at herself too. They were on a mission; they had lost their crewmates... And all she wanted was to lie down and let Ace play with her needy body.

He was sly, his kisses, and his touch; he was playing with her and she was powerless.

"We're _so_ not doing _anything_ here, Ace..." Eli said wearily.

His mouth creeping up her neck, Ace sucked on her lobe, eliciting an almost inaudible moan from the girl. Guiltily, Eli bit her bottom lip while her conviction waned upon the delightful heat waves beckoned by the fame user luscious touch.

"Really ?" Ace asked in a hoarse whisper, his hot breath blowing in her ear causing shivers to race on her skin. "I think we are..."

to be continued

* * *

_In the previous chapter, Eli's dream was only a dream. She didn't know young Robin. Also Robin is eight years older than Eli, so it would be quite impossible that she met the archaeologist when she was a child. Her mind weaved a dream because of her past, Robin's, and the sight of her bounty poster._

_I'm sorry this chapter is rather short and uneventful but I wanted to end it here :]_

_See you on Thursday for a little trip in Ace's mind with a new chapter of 'Twig'.  
_


	72. SelfControl

**Chapter 72****  
Self-Control**

It seemed so fast and slow at the same time, hard and easy, right and so deliciously wrong.

After a few strong heartbeats, Ace had lifted Eli in his arms and, if she hadn't been so excited by his wild behavior, the girl might have teased him for carrying her 'bridal style'. A large grin on his freckled face, the black-haired pirate had dashed through the snake's stomach while the girl pressed against his body let her mouth kiss his neck hungrily. Hopping onto the ruins, he jumped into the window of the first almost intact house he saw.

It was made of decrepit stones. What was probably once furniture had turned into piles of worn planks and dust. The little campfire the young man made with vines and woods cast its dancing lights upon the dark room, warming up the cold atmosphere yet, not as much as _he_ did; his hot hands wandering on the girl's sensitive body, it didn't take Ace long to bare Eli of the little clothing she was wearing.

After unrolling a sleeping bag on the floor, Ace laid Eli on this makeshift bed, not that she cared the lack of comfort. The girl was dazed to a degree that prevented any kind of superficial consideration.

And then it began, what people called _foreplay_, and it really felt like Ace was playing with her. Teasing every portion of her pale skin, the young man elicited strangled noise of pleasure from Eli. So good and so bad, rough and delicate, his hands, his mouth, his tongue were doing things the girl couldn't discern. While a heated haze was covering all of her senses, the only thought that echoed faintly in her mind was that she didn't want him to stop.

Inside of her, Eli could feel herself burning with passion, she could feel her hollowness once more awakened by his touch, and she could feel that, while her moans became uncontrollably louder, to the tip of what was probably her legs, she was almost breaking her own toes.

Ace was torturing her and indefinitely exquisite was the anguish he inflicted upon her broken body. His touch was throwing her over the edge, yet she wanted more and, as the game had lasted long enough, panting and burning, Eli was _starving_ for more.

But the game _wasn't _over. Ace kept playing and teasing; he wanted Eli to ask for the release of a complete invasion. And she did. Hell she did. Mouthing pleadingly her want to the ear to the mischievous flame user, she begged.

All this excitation, all this expectation, they had thrown the girl into such a fiery state of mind... Therefore, when Ace abandoned her, putting an end to their intercourse, it all burst through her mind now blurred with rage.

Ace looked rather dumb when he stared at the beanpole holding a huge boulder above her head, it was probably weighting five times heavier than her. Ace looked rather puzzled when the object of his affection set on fire before his dark eyes; wide opened they reflected the flames licking all over her body until the shadow of the huge rock being thrown at him darkened his glistening orbs.

The punishment was indefinitely clement compared to what he really deserved.

"Luffy," Eli called out rather harshly, walking over to the rubbery boy who was strolling carelessly through the reptile's insides. "What the _hell_ are you doing here ?"

"Eli !" As she got closer, the torch she was holding cast its light on his stupid, grinning face. "I was fighting with this guy and I ended up in this magic cave."

_Magic... cave ?_ Eli blinked a few times as she came to a stop in front of him. How could someone not be aware that he had been swallowed by a giant snake ?

"It's not a cave." Eli sighed. "It's a snake."

"A snake ?" Luffy eyes widened as they traveled around them. "That's so cool !"

'Cool' wouldn't have been the adjective Eli would have chosen to describe the fact of being swallowed alive and stuck in the stomach of a colossal reptile, but watching Luffy grinning broadly, she decided to keep her comments to herself and started looking for a possible exit with her captain. Since being 'pooped' by the reptile wasn't a very appealing prospect, no matter how _natural_ Luffy made it sound, the two pirates were looking for the mouth of the snake.

"Hey !"

Looking behind them, Eli and Luffy saw Ace walking in their direction. A torch in his hand, he was waving at them, a large smile plastered on his stupid, freckled face.

"Ace !" Luffy yelled out. As enthusiastically as his brother, he was waving his hand while Eli resumed her walk through the snake's insides.

"Eli, wait !" She heard the two morons yelling in unison.

Speeding up her pace, grumbles, quite intelligible, left her mouth. The girl didn't want to see the flame user and having him only a few meters away from her, only caused anger to resurface and flow through her blood. Therefore, she kept striding forward, ignoring the two black-haired pirates as she did. Yet, she couldn't ignore the sound of their footfalls, especially heavy ones. Dangerously, they were getting closer, and with every thud, her ire grew stronger, her heartbeats too. Furiously, Eli tightened her grip on the torch.

"Hey, Eli." It was his voice, his stupid and slightly husky voice, and it grated on her thudding ears.

While Ace looked at the girl, his expression was warm, affectionate, maybe a tad amused. Eli's however, was darkened with wrath. With a huff, full of disdain, she gave her head a shake, and quickened her steps. But Ace didn't seem to understand it was best for his own safety that he left the girl alone. As he walked by her side, the flame user curled his fingers around her arm, the warmth spreading from his skin heating the girl burning mind.

"Listen, I-"

"Luffy !" Eli jerked her arm out of Ace's grasp, fearing of what his enticing warmth could do to her. "Could you tell Mr. Portgas that I don't want to talk to him ?"

"Ace, Eli said that-"

"I heard Luffy." A frown appeared on his face as Ace gazed at the angry girl. A sigh left his mouth before he leaned a bit in her direction, bringing his mouth to her ear. "I'm sorry, but we couldn't... Not with Luffy hanging around," he whispered.

"Luffy." Keeping her glare set in front of her, Eli took a few steps away from Ace. "Tell Mr. Portgas that-"

"I'm right here Eli !" Ace said harshly kicking the ground as he spoke. "Stop acting like a brat !"

"... Tell him that he should leave me alone." Eli finished.

"Ace, Eli said-"

"Shut up Luffy !" Ace barked, turning his anger against his young sibling.

Resentment painted across their faces, the two older pirates glared at the rubber teen as his belly laughter resonated throughout the snake's stomach. Silent, they kept strolling into the ruins, stepping over skulls and rocks. Two of them rather focused on finding, at last, the exit while the third was giggling and jumping, his ecstatic behavior further getting on the first two's nerves.

"Hehe, I'm a King !" Luffy said loudly.

Looking questioningly at him over her shoulder, Eli rolled her eyes in annoyance. The teen was wearing a dirty and quite big crown over his straw hat. Standing proudly on the top of half a house, he was grinning like a complete idiot.

"A king..." Eli muttered.

As she resumed her hike, the girl spotted something shiny partly hidden behind a heap of rocks. Curious, she approached, the flame of the torch she was holding reflecting on the yellow metal and gems of several pieces of jewelry.

"Haha." The corners of her lips curled up as Eli picked up a large and very pompous crown. After dusting it rapidly, she put it on her head and swirled around. "I'm a Queen !" she sneered.

Luffy's eyes sparkled almost as much as the jewels inlaid in the girl's luxurious headgear when he stared in awe at the proud beanpole, posing magnificently on a pedestal made of all kind of junk. Ace, however, did not seem to share the two pirates' glee. His eyes shifted from one to the other until he lifted a hand to his forehead and rubbed his skin while uttering a rather annoyed sigh.

The loud giggles flowing from the childish pair reverberating into the 'cave' morphed into cries when the snake seemed like shaken by powerful spasms. The tremors jostled the three pirates from a side to the other of the reptile's stomach along with boulders and entire buildings.

Using her speed, Eli hopped during her fall and evaded skillfully the rock-slide while the two brothers used their own abilities the best they could to avoid being crushed.

A minute later, the snake-quake came to a stop and the paramecia went in search of her crewmates. As she strolled through the mass of rocks and buildings, the girl felt something warm grabbing her bare leg. Her face snapping downward, she gasped as Ace pulled her down.

"Idiot !" Now lying across his body, she slapped his knee and he chuckled. Eli rolled her eyes while she sat up on her feet. "Have you seen-"

"Shhh..." Ace smirked while hushing the girl by putting a finger on her lips. "Let me talk first."

Looking away, Eli slammed her hands on her ears. "BLAHBLA-"

"Will you shut up !" he whispered, his hand pressed on the girl's mouth. "I'm sorry, Eli, I really am, but we couldn't keep on, not while Luffy was here. You know I'm right..."

Even if she pretended she didn't listened to him, Eli heard every word and somewhere, not so far hidden behind her childish behavior, she knew that his excuses were valid but the frustration lying just above her reason, veiled her judgment. It was stronger than anything; a _sexual_ frustration, it was raw, burning, and primal. The girl felt wounded to her very core, and despite how sweet he would act, the only thing she wanted from Ace was for him to fill her emptiness with his wild and burning passion. All that she wanted was to feel, at last, the bliss of the release of their want.

Swarming along with her ire, her lust was restless; she wanted sex, nothing else.

"Twig, please, it's not like I don't know how you feel." Ace sighed as he pulled one of her hands away from the girl's ear. "You've been teasing me _way_ before I did..."

"_Whak_ ?" she said from behind his palm, looking at him with wide eyes.

"The forest ?" Ace offered, his dark brows rose on his forehead as he spoke. "The stupid fox...?"

_Ah... _The memory came back in her mind with the words.

Ace released her mouth as the girl anger gradually left her green eyes. "See ?" he said kindly.

"But you..." Unable to withstand his gentle gaze, Eli stared at his red necklace, her reflection in the crimson pearls further mortifying the girl. "You made me...talk... You made me... _beg, _Ace..." she managed to say, her cheeks burning up as embarrassment completely took over. "That's... unfair..."

Apparently, the young man was fighting, in vain, against a smirk that slithered on his lips and Eli's response was a glare of wrath piercing right through his dark eyes. Why did he have to mock her ? Didn't he see how difficult it was for her ? The girl had absolutely no experience in this domain, and the things she did, the things _he_ did, Eli couldn't really control the effects they had on her.

Yet, he probably did.

Ace surely knew that as he lifted a hand on her cheek, so warm compared to her skin, Eli would feel his heat spreading inside of her and melting her doubts in a heartbeat or two. Ace certainly knew that while his dark eyes dove into her green ones, he'd make Eli forget all about Luffy, the snake, the Sky Island, the whole world... Ace undoubtedly knew that if the girl was silent, it wasn't because his lips were kissing hers, but because she had purely and simply lost her voice upon the divine and so deliciously warm touch.

"We'll do it, Eli." Ace said quietly against her mouth, while his fingers caressed her nape. "I know I want to... Very much."

"Without being interrupted ?"

"Without being interrupted." Ace nodded.

"Not in a snake...?" Eli asked hesitantly.

"Not in a snake," he said and laid a soft, smiling kiss on her lips.

Their foreheads pressed together, the two lovers gazed into each other's eyes. Without a word, they both knew what was going into the other's mind. They did not care if they were in a snake, for when they kissed, their surrounding morphed into a heated void. Their bodies were calling for each other, almost louder than the sound of Luffy and Nami's voices.

With a well synchronized sigh, Ace and Eli reluctantly pulled away from each other, stood up and scanned the area in search for a distraction against their desires. Soon, they found Luffy, Nami, Gan Fall and his bird Pierre, as well as a little girl.

"Eli !" Nami jumped into the pole bean arms. "I'm glad you're okay !"

"Uh...?" Eli patted the redhead's back hesitantly. "What happened ?"

"It was crazy," Nami said as she pulled away. "Enel took Usopp and Sanji down, a war is raging on Upper Yard, and then we got swallowed by this snake." She made a motion with her hand while her eyes traveled on the group's surroundings.

"Enel...? You mean the one they call god ?" Eli asked.

"God is the title of the leader of our country," Gan Fall said. "Nothing more, nothing less."

"But he is extremely dangerous..." Nami said, fear showing through her chestnut eyes. "We need to get out of here."

As if it had heard the redhead, another series of tremors shook the giant snake, while a bright light appeared at the end of the 'cave'. The ruins were collapsing from all around with a thundering noise, yet, despite the confusion the group, focused on the brilliant exit.

Pierre spread his polka dotted wings as Gan Fall jumped on his back while Nami jumped aboard a small vehicle: a small boat and a set of handles connected to a front wheel with a sort of engine attached to the rear.

"Hold onto the waver !" Nami yelled. "I'm going to start the engine !"

Hopping swiftly in the middle of the rock-slide, Eli turned her head around to look at the rest of the group. One of his rubber arm wrapped around Ace and the little girl, as Luffy grabbed the rear of the waver. Barely avoiding a boulder, the paramecia focused on her own escape. Dashing onto the slimy walls, she soon reached the exit, the light blinding her on the spot.

As she squeezed her tingling eyes, the girl felt the ground disappearing from under her feet. _Uh oh..._ They were falling, all of them, and the snake too.

Loud screams got the girl's attention upward, her eyes snapping open despite the burning sensation on her orbs as she saw the snake, his jaws wide open, plummeting right above her and further, inside of his throat, Ace, Luffy and the girl were yelling before disappearing into the darkness of the reptile's insides.

"Go back Pierre !" Gan Fall ordered, getting off his bird thus falling like Eli and Nami. "You have to save them !"

"We'll crash down !" Nami yelled bewilderingly staring at the ground, getting closer to the three skydivers.

Below them, a whole city made of stones. Its magnificence could have impressed the paramecia, if the image of her body smashed onto its ground wasn't filling her mind with dread and that was then, as gravity was ineluctably attracting the girl toward her probable death, that she remembered...

"_Geppou ?" Eli asked, looking at Etowaru questioningly. "What is that ?"_

"_The second of the six Rokushiki teachings," he replied, lifting his eyes from his book._

"_And it makes you fly ?"_

"_Not quite." A smile on his face, the young man completely turned around to look at the girl who was sitting on his bed. "But almost."_

"_Tell me, tell me," Eli urged, her green eyes sparkling with admiration._

"_Mmmh, I don't know... You're not allowed to-"_

"_Towaaaaa, pleeeeaaaaaase." Clasping her hands together, she gave him 'the puppy face'. "Please, please, please..."_

_With a sigh, Etowaru ran a hand through his raven hair. "You have to promise you won't try it then."_

"_But-"_

"_Promise Lizzie."_

_The girl pouted and finally nodded. The only knowledge of something that was supposed to be kept secret from her was enough. At least for now._

"_Good." Etowaru gave Eli a soft smile. "Geppou is..."_

She remembered it all.

Maybe it was because the Sutan girl dearly treasured every memory of the young man, maybe it was because it was one of the only thing she had learned of the martial art that was kept secret from the females of her country, or maybe it was because she would, one day, need it. No matter what were the reasons, Eli remembered it all.

_I'm sorry, Towa... _she thought guiltily._ I won't keep that promise._

As she was falling, now only a dozen meters above the ground, Eli closed her eyes, and breathed out to focus on her blood, on her heartbeats and accelerate her whole self tremendously. As her eyes snapped back open, the cries that pervaded all around her, instantly morphed into a low howling sound, while the rocks and people's falls almost came to a stop.

"_We have to kick against the air hard enough to float."_

Kicking the air rapidly, Eli felt, somehow, stupid. How can you kick the air ?

"_You have to feel it. Concentrate enough and forget everything so that you can feel the materiality of the air, no matter how thin it is."_

Despite how slow the fall was, the ground was still getting dangerously closer, or was it the other way around...? Shaking rapidly her head in order to clear her mind, Eli closed her eyes. She stretched her arms out and slowly spread her fingers. Her hair fluttering upward, she could feel the wind, and just like when she ran, she was one with it and she could feel the air. It was breathing around her, and the paramecia could feel its pulses.

One... two... Eli gave a kick and felt a faint resistance under the sole of her shoes.

One... two... With another kick, the girl felt herself lifting up.

One... two... It was almost solid now. The timing had to be perfect but for someone who could slow the flow of time around her, timing couldn't be an issue. A grin on her face, Eli kicked a few more times elevating easily in the air. Because of her speed, not only she could maintain herself in the air, she could actually jump higher.

_Not bad_, Eli thought proudly, jumping around in the air. She used the air and the boulders to propel herself up or down as it pleased her.

Happily, she jumped toward Nami, grabbed the vehicle and the redhead to whom it belonged. Stuck in her time bubble, the girl had a look on her face that made Eli think she would make a good Usopp impression. The air was her playground. The paramecia, hopped in the air, toward a building and rocket herself along with Nami right into a cloud.

Looking upward, she located Gan Fall and jumped up in his direction. As she grabbed and pulled the armored knight, felt her energy leaving her body rapidly. The man and his armor were much heavier than Nami, and the paramecia had already used most of her stamina trying to figure out the air-walking technique. Pulling and jumping, she felt the world's speed gradually increasing.

_Just a bit more..._ Gritting her teeth, Eli managed to place the both of them right above the cloud where Nami was, a split heartbeat before she lost control. A wave raced down her body, the girl's muscles going lax on its path, and once again she felt herself falling, fast.

With a loud gasp, they both hit the soft ground, bouncing a few meters above the ground a few times, before stabilizing.

"Eli !" Nami scrambled over to the body of the beanpole, shaken by spasms of weariness. "Thank you !" she said, beaming at Eli, the tears of dread quickly vanishing from her eyes.

"Nami..." Wearily, the Sutan girl smiled back, her breath broken by consistent pants.. "I'm... so... hungry..."

The redhead's only reply was giggle and a pat on Eli's head.

to be continued

* * *

_Okay, I'm adding this note for the ones who just read the chapter. _  
_I didn't invent Rokushiki, Oda did. Geppou is one of the six techniques of this art. Rokushiki is used by the CP9 in the Water Seven Arc._  
_Sorry if it disappoints you :/_

_Thanks for reading, I'll be seeing you on Thursday for a little Twig. Until then, I'll be waiting for your reviews ;)_


	73. Survival

**Chapter 73  
****Survival**

In the middle of a forest suspended in the skies, was an ancient city. Magnificent, the sight of the ruins inspired the ones whose eyes traveled on its stones with awe. It was sheltered in a cocoon of cloud, a giant beanstalk raising high up in the air piercing through the hazy ceiling; the scene seemed like inspired by a fairy tale.

Fighting against a heavy sensation of vertigo, Eli shifted her groggy gaze from the magical scenery to Nami as she went through her bag. If she weren't so exhausted, the chronicler would have probably taken back her belongings from the intrusive redhead as well as thrown her crewmate some piece of her mind. But Eli was very much tired, to the point of not even caring what Nami was searching for in her bag for all of her forces were solely focused on keeping her eyes open.

"Are you alright young lady ?"

Gan Fall appeared in her swirly field of vision, his face framed by an aura so bright it made Eli wonder if she wasn't dreaming.

"I... just..."

"She needs energy," Nami said. With a little sound of content, the redhead straightened up and turned around; her reached-out hand toward Eli was holding a little box. "Here, eat this."

Eli's body felt so heavy then, heavy and unresponsive. Wincing and whining quietly, the girl tried to lift her upper body, and seeing how difficult it was, Gan Fall helped her. Slowly, she sat up and rested her back on a wall. As she grabbed the little box and opened it, her stomach started growling furiously while her eyes marveled at the sight of several sweet delicacies so pretty and shiny they looked like jewelries, at least to the starving girl's eyes.

Dazedly, Eli's green gaze shifted to the navigator who was still searching through her crewmate's bag. "When did you-"

"Sanji asked me to put that in your bag in case of emergency." Turning around, Nami handed a bottle of pills to Eli. "And these are from Chopper. Vitamins and supplement he said."

Looking at the offerings, Eli slightly bit her bottom lip, feeling guilt stirring inside of her empty insides. "I'm... sorry..."

"Don't mention it, and _eat_." Nami sat against the wall next to her crewmate who began to devour her meal. "Zoro has to get stitches all over after every battle, Luffy needs to eat ten times his weight in meat to operate properly, Ace and his narcolepsy, Usopp and his 'diseases'... Really you are all very high maintenance."

With a sigh, the redhead ran a hand through her hair. A little smile brightening her pretty face, the affection she had for the pirates was barely concealed.

Hearing strange noises coming from behind them, Eli turned her head to look at the snake through a large hole in the stonewall. "The snake..." she said quietly.

"I know..." Nami said. "The guys are still inside."

"Don't worry, Pierre is a bird you can rely on," Gan Fall said. "Or a horse."

The two pirate girls peered at the snake as it was looking around the ancient city questioningly. Uttering some strange, hissing sounds, it slithered through the ruins relentlessly.

"I hope Luffy and Ace aren't doing something stupid," Nami said, her eyes following the giant creature.

_Ace..._

"It looks like it's searching for something," Eli said quietly.

As the seconds passed, the colossus seemed further restless. His giant head moving in every direction, the sounds it uttered became louder and, somehow, pleading.

"Uh..." The two pirate girl's startled at the same time seeing tears flowing from his giant, blue orbs.

"Is it... crying...?" Nami breathed while the snake howled with pain, his heartbreaking cries resonating throughout the ruins of the ancient city.

"Maybe... Maybe it lost someone," Eli murmured, feeling cold shivers racing on her skin with every of the snake's cry.

It seemed so desperate, so wounded that its sorrow reached the inside of the girls' hearts. Utterly voiceless, they watched the creature stretching upward as it uttered long and mournful wails to the skies.

"What are you doing ?" A loud and cold voice asked, causing the three escapees to snap their heads in the direction of a man sitting on the top of a building that Nami instantly designated as the famous 'Enel'.

Carefully, Eli shifted her body to observe 'God' from behind the wall. The girl's eyebrows rose questioningly as she trailed down his earlobes that ended up on his shirtless and extremely muscular torso. His attire was rather luxurious: loose, orange pants with a large blue, flowing sash attached around his waist. Around his wrists, ankles and toes, thick golden bracelets and rings and, at last, to emphasize the godly appearance, a large ring with four drums fixed onto it, was attached to his back, like a halo around his head.

In the corner of her eye, Eli saw Gan Fall standing up and approaching the God, a grave look on his face. As her gaze followed the knight, the chronicler saw another man standing at the bottom of the building. He was wearing a tribal outfit and carried a long cannon resting on his large shoulder. His figure, his clothing, his stature; they reminded Eli of the man who had attacked the Merry when the pirates had arrived on the Millennium Cumulonimbus.

Eli poked her crewmate with her elbow. "Who is that ?" She showed the mysterious man with her chin.

"Aisa, the little girl who was with us, called him Wiper," Nami said. "They are Shandians."

Curious, the chronicler was about to ask who were the 'Shandians' but the two pirates' attention shifted to Enel as he lifted one of his hands, a bright sparkle appearing in his palm.

"What are you so excited about, King of the Sky ?" he said scornfully.

More sparkle gathered in his large hand, creating a large ball of energy, of _electricity_. At this moment one word echoed in Eli's mind, a frightful word at that, 'Logia'. If Devil fruit users were always tough to deal with, Logias were the worst.

"You annoying snake !" Enel screamed as he hurled his ball of electricity right above the snake's head.

With an abrupt motion of his hand, the man beckoned a beam of thunder from the skies onto the creature. It was so bright that the witnesses had to cover their eyes with their hands to withstand the sight of the dreadful attack.

A loud, pained cry burst forth through the ruins of the ancient city while the body of the snake seemed like vaporizing into the sizzling whiteness. The ear-tearing scream faded, just like the brightness of the attack as the colossus collapsed on the ground. Stones cracking beneath his humongous weight, fumes elevated from his lifeless body.

Dread washing over her on the spot, Eli stood up clumsily, only to find Nami holding her back. "Ace and Luffy are inside !"

"I know," Nami said. "They... they'll be fin-"

"Oh no ! NAMI !"

Puzzled, the two pirate girls scanned around, their eyes falling on a desperate looking Zoro who was staring at the snake's corpse. Not far away from him Robin was standing, thoughtfully observing the reptile as well.

"Zoro !" Nami called out. "Robin !"

"NAMI ?" Befuddled, Zoro barked the girl's name, apparently he thought that the girl was still inside of the snake. Wrath spreading the air as he spoke, the navigator brushed away the swordsman's ire with a light motion of her hand.

"Ah... What are you doing here Miss Navigator ?" Her deep blue eyes shifted to the beanpole standing next to the redhead. "Miss Chronicler ?"

"It doesn't matter !" Eli said harshly.

Looking at the snake, Nami nodded. "Luffy and Ace are still inside..."

"What ! How the hell did they got in there ?" Zoro looked more and more bewildered as he glared at the snake, or more likely, his crewmates inside.

Not quite sure it would be good for his nerves to hear the whole story of how they got inside of the snake, Eli decided to keep that tale for later. They were in presence of the God of this country, and he seemed like a terrible opponent. A Logia, but even worse, the element the man controlled was one of the most terrifying in her opinion... lightning. How do one managed to go against thunder...? It was really befitting of a person who was called a god.

"Yahaha," Enel laughed. A dial in his hand, he created a white, floating sphere and jumped to sit on it. "Everyone ! Welcome to my little game."

Nami pulled Eli behind the wall to hide the both of them for the dreadful man while, voiceless, Zoro, Robin, Gan Fall, and the other man looked up at Enel as he spoke.

"The rules are simple, really. It's a survival game and of course, I'm also a contestant." Enel said, his delight showing through every word. "Three hours ago, when the game began, I predicted that there would be five survivors."

Somehow, Nami looked rather relieved then. Apparently, Enel wasn't aware of the two girl's presence.

"In three minutes, the time will be up. Thus, it is quite problematic that there are still seven survivors here."

Slamming a hand on her mouth, Nami covered a gasp of surprise. The two girls were hidden from his sight, yet, it seemed that Enel could acutely feel their presences among the contestants of this sick game of his.

"Therefore, two of you here have to be eliminated," he said threateningly. "Will you do it yourselves or should I take care of it...?"

A silence ensued. The contestants stared thoughtfully at Enel, and he stared back at them, apparently enjoying his little _game_. On the other side, Nami's fear only grew stronger. Her face went paler and her shivers more vigorous.

"Hey do you want to ?" Zoro asked Robin who was standing next to him.

"No, thank you," the archaeologist replied.

"I don't think so," the tribal man said.

"I refuse as well !" Gan Fall claimed.

The four contestants brandished their weapons toward Enel. "You will !" they all said in unison.

"How impudent." Enel sneered, malice stirring in his eyes as he looked at his four adversaries. "You're planning to eliminate _me_ ?" The man laughed loudly, his disdain not weakening his contestants' resolve. "I wouldn't expect less from the survivors of this game."

Nami finally released Eli from her tight embrace. Stealthily the two girls bent to the side to peer at the confrontation. His eyes traveling from one to the other contestant, how much Enel was enjoying this sick game of his was clearly obvious.

"Stop talking nonsense," Gan Fall ordered. "Tell me what you seek to accomplish here Enel ! And where are the militia member you held captive." His spear pointing belligerently at the Logia, his voice rose in a shout.

"I simply wish to return to the place where I should be Gan Fall," Enel said, a serious look on his face. "A place called Fairy Vearth. That is the ideal world I seek ! That is what I deserve." Scornfully, he looked at the contestants from above. "This puny piece of earth you've fought for centuries to control is nothing. This country in the sky defies the laws of nature and I'm sending you all to where you belong... below the sky !"

"You want to destroy this country ?" Gan Fall barked, wrath as well as fear painted across his face.

Upon the realization of the God's plan, shivers raced over Eli's skin.

"What are you doing Eli ?" Nami whispered, looking questioningly at the beanpole as she engulfed the whole content of her lunch box in a split second before gulping down a dozen of vitamins. "You're not going to fight, are you ? You're too weak, you don't stand a chance !"

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Nami," Eli said wryly. "But no, I'm not going to fight."

Gulping down a few more vitamins, Eli's mind heated up with a force awakening from deep inside of her. The people of Skypiea were in danger, and she had to do something to help them, it was as simple as that, it was all her heartbeat repeated endlessly.

"I don't care about this _God_, Nami." Eli glanced over at the man who was looking with disdain at the humans fool enough to challenge him before grabbing the redhead's shoulders. "We need to do something for those people," she said looking deeply in Nami's eyes.

As a ruckus arose from the group, Eli stood up. "Where is Skypiea ?" she asked.

Hesitantly, Nami bit her bottom lip, before pointing the direction.

"Thanks," Eli said before starting dashing away.

"Hey, hey !" A spark flickered right before the girl, making her jump back with a gasp. In a flash, Enel appeared, a sneer on his face. "Where do you think you're going ?" he asked tilting his head to the side. "The game isn't over yet."

"I don't care about your sick game," Eli said, taking a step away from the dangerous Logia.

"You're a contestant and you can't withdraw now."

His smile grew even more wicked as Eli's eyes scoped her surroundings rapidly. Zoro was running in their direction, closely followed by Gan Fall.

"Leave her !" the swordsman yelled out. "She's only a woman."

"Really ?" Enel laughed loudly as he set his gaze on the paramecia, blood lust glimmering in his dark orbs. "Well... I am God."

The sound of her name being yelled filled Eli's ears as Enel stretched out his arm in her direction. With an increasing crackling, it changed into a bright light. Running away from the light, Eli dashed through the ruins. It was following her, closely, shooting like a silver arrow through the air before vanishing in a flash.

"You're... fast," a voice said from behind her.

Eli swirled around, fear hidden behind a steady thoughtfulness. "So are you."

A wicked smile slithered on his lips as he stared persistently at the paramecia. Taunting her pride, his stare further heated the girl's mind. But her pride had long disappeared, along with her people, and what remained was a girl whose fighting skills were only aimed to protect. Protect the ones she loved, protect the powerless, protect, to the cost of her own life.

_That_ was where her will now stood. _That_ was what she believed in.

"I don't want to fight you, Enel," Eli said. "I just want to save those people."

"By going against God's plan, you go against God himself," he replied. Rapidly, he swirled his staff.

"ENEL !" Gan Fall yelled out, dashing toward him, his spear brandished forward. As Eli took a step to the side, the knight looked at her. "Go, young lady, go save them," he said quietly before shifting his stare to the sneering God.

With a nod, Eli plucked up her forces and started running away only to find Enel, once again, blocking her way.

"Go Eli !" Zoro ordered standing by her side, he took a fighting stand and glared at Enel.

Enel twitched as his eyes traveled from one to each of his opponents. They were surrounding him and Eli felt their courage bursting through her veins.

"Don't die," Eli said before disappearing with a gust of wind.

As she entered the giant forest, Eli felt a raw sting of guilt piercing in her guts with every step she took, hesitance making her speed wane, but the yells the pirate girl heard from behind her, pushed her forward, faster. They were fighting, their own way, they were fighting for this country, and so would she.

to be continued

* * *

_So, Eli didn't fight Enel.  
I hope your not too disappointed but, it's just not who she is. Please understand :)_

_Next update on Thursday (if I manage to finish the chapter in time)._


	74. Saving A Life

**Chapter 74  
****Saving A Life**

It was a bit annoying, or maybe, at least, disappointing, possibly slightly surprising, in any case, as she ran on the White-white Sea with most of her speed to warn the Skypieans of the devil plans of their God, Eli wasn't expecting to see someone already doing her job. But in the end, as she watched from behind a tree a blond winged girl informing her people of the threat that was looming over their country, a sigh of relief left the pirate girl while a little smile made its way to her lips.

She wasn't a savior, and maybe, that was for the best.

"God Enel is going to destroy this country !" The Skypiean girl yelled out in front of a bewildered audience. "Everyone, please, go to the Cloud's End and escape to the Blue Sea !"

She was panting hardly, drops of sweat trailing down her pretty face and, as they stared at her, voices arose from the crowd. Eli strained her ears, unable to understand why the Skypieans remained so immobile while hearing that their lives were endangered by their very God.

"Non-sense !"

"That woman..."

"She's Pagaya's blasphemous daughter !"

_Pagaya ?_ Eli startled. Pagaya was the name of the man who had warned her and Ace from the danger her crewmates were in the previous day. The man had said that he and his daughter had welcomed the pirates in their homes... Was that the reason of the Skypiean's resentment ?

"Go away !"

"God Enel would never do such a thing !" a child yelled as he hurled a rock in the direction of girl's face.

Seeing the projectile flying toward the winged blonde's face, Eli bit her bottom lip and squeezed her eyes shut as she turned around, pressing her back to the tree's trunk. A terrible dilemma struck the green-eyed girl then; maybe she wasn't supposed to be there, maybe she was wrong to leave her crewmates after all, and maybe she should let the Skypieans deal with their problems alone.

But then why ? Why did she feel that she _had_ to remain here ? The pirate girl's guts had never failed her before and, with every heartbeat she could feel it inside of her; she was here for a reason.

As Eli slowly rolled her head to the side to look at the Skypiean girl, her guts twisted painfully; blood trailing from above her eye down her lovely face, the winged girl was chewed on her bottom lip, tears threatening to fall from her big eyes.

"ENEL !" She clenched her fists, her shoulders tensing as she did. "IS NOT A TRUE GOD !" she yelled on top of her lungs.

The crowd was silent for a moment. Wordlessly, they stared at the angry angel before dashing away in a complete chaos. Cries of dread gushed from the herd who was running around panic-stricken.

"Get away from her ! The judgment is coming !"

The Skypieans went to hide behind trees and buildings, leaving the girl in the middle of the deserted place. Yet as her big eyes were closed, she had a serene look on her face. Obviously the 'judgment' they were expecting had yet to strike the blasphemous angel and, as the seconds became minutes, the crowd started agitating again.

"I will say this even if it means I will lose my life but the last words of a survivor of the God's Militia were 'Skypiea will be destroyed.' He and my father were killed by Enel...".

_Pagaya... _Eli brought her hands to her face feeling emotion creeping up her throat. Behind her closed eyelids, she could still see the face of the gentle Skypiean, she could still hear his voice, and she could still picture the fear in his eyes when he was talking of his God.

From afar, Eli could hear the prayers from the desperate winged people, they were calling for a miracle, and they were calling for help from their dreadful God...

"Are you saying you are going to remain here and die ?" the girl asked, bewildered at the blind faith of her people. "If there is one thing I know for certain is that Enel is powerful and cruel." Her voice rose as a shout, covering the payers of the angels. "A MIRACLE WILL NEVER HAPPEN !"

"As of now this country..." Dread as well as anger painted across her face, she brought her hands to her chest. "Does not have a God ! This is not the time to be praying. We must survive !"

The angel's voice reached Eli very core, and as she peeked at her from being the tree, Eli could feel her words racing under her skin with mighty shivers. Speechless again, the Skypieans stared at the girl as well. Their fears, their crushed hopes, Eli could feel them too.

"If we survive, everything will be different. So we must chose. Dead or alive, our lives depend on this very question. Do we or do we not give up on this country and run ?"

Touched, at last, by the words of the angel, the crowd started to move again. They ran to their houses, to gather their families and precious belongings, choosing to abandon their homes for the sake of their survivals.

Watching the bewildered crowd, a light of hope shone inside of the Sutan girl's heart. Slowly, she stepped away from the tree and walked toward the blond girl.

"Are you... are you one of the pirates ?" she asked looking at the beanpole.

"I am," Eli said gravely. "Listen, I'm... I'm sorry about your dad. He was a good man."

"Thank you." A little smile appeared on the angel's pretty face. "I am Conis," she said.

For a moment the two girls looked at each other, deeply, feeling a bond forming within their mutual pains. Weakly, they smiled at each other before shifting her gaze toward the sky as the sound of thunder reached their ears.

Dark clouds massing above the dreamy Iisland were covering the clear blue skies. Gradually, the white city darkened while the sound of thunder grew louder.

A man walked toward the two girls. He was wearing a uniform and a white beret. "Thank you Conis," he said. "You can leave the evacuation to us. We White Berets have sworn to protect the people of Skypiea, and never will we fail that promise again."

A kind smile on her face, Conis nodded. "We don't have time to lose then."

"I want to help," Eli said. "Tell me what to do."

And so, while the skies darkened threateningly, the people of Skypiea prepared their exodus from their lovely island. They were afraid and with each of the thunder strikes, their fears only grew stronger. The White Beret prepared ships for the people to embark, calming the best they could the frightened angels. While Eli used her speed to hasten the process. Putting a bright smile on her face, she carried goods, and showed the way.

"Captain," Eli called out as she set foot on the last of the exodus ships. "There are other people on this land, right ?"

The White Beret captain looked thoughtfully in the distance. "The Shandians," he said.

"We must warn them as well," she said, resolve holding her weak voice.

The man nodded, before ordering to change the ship's course toward the land of the Shandians.

Chaos prevailing on the ship, Eli walked over to the railing to gaze at the Upper Yard. There was a ship flying above the holy land. _Enel..._

"Eli." Conis, walked over to the pirate girl. "I must return there..." The blond girl glanced at the Upper Yard. "Usopp and Sanji were badly injured and they are still on the Merry."

As she looked around her at the Skypieans gathered on their ships, fleeing for their survival, the pirate girl knew that she had to go back to her crewmates. But something akin to fear thudded in her restless body. She felt that her task wasn't achieved here yet even though she had no idea why.

"Eli ?" Conis called out, snapping the pirate girl out of her thoughts. "Are you coming with me ?"

"I... I don't-"

"HIRON !"

The two girl's heads snapped in the direction of a woman who was striding frantically through the crowd gathered on the deck of the ship. She was rather small, with long dark hair gathered in a bun. A desperate expression on her face, she was looking for someone, jostling every person that stood in her way.

"HIRON WHERE ARE YOU !" the woman yelled.

"What is it ma'am ?" a White Beret asked.

"My son..." she said with a trembling voice. "I can't find my son...!"

As she looked at the devastated woman, Eli could feel her heartbeats growing stronger. With every thud, she understood, that was why she was here, that was the reason why she had left her crewmates; she was here to save a life.

"I'll go get him," Eli said.

"You can't !" the White Beret barked pointing at Angel Island. "Look at sky, look at the _storm_ !"

A smile on her face, Eli gazed at Angle island in the distance, from the black clouds above, dozens of thunderbolts struck its fluffy ground; it looks like a nightmare. "Don't worry, I'll get your son back."

Without adding another word, the pirate girl jumped off the ship and dashed on the White-white Sea toward the island. A split second later, she was running through the city in search for the boy. Faster than lightning itself, the paramecia avoided the bright arrows of thunder skillfully while scanning her chaotic surroundings, but the boy was nowhere to be found.

As her green gaze rose, Eli bit her bottom lip; he was probably in the forest. It wasn't vast, but still, its greenery was thick and spread all over the fluffy soil of Angel Island. Trailing up the trees and hills, the pirate girl's eyes darkened as they reflected the blackness of the clouds looming over her. The thunderbolts roared from all over, casting their blinding lights on the dreadful scenery.

_You can make it._ With a deep breath, Eli plucked her forces and started a rushed and concentric race around the angels' town. With the trees' foliage blocking her view, it was harder for the paramecia to predict where the thunder would strike, but she trusted her instincts; she had a task to accomplish here, and nothing, not even a God could get in her way, and soon, the cries of a boy reached her ears where her boiling blood was thudding with force.

"Hiron !" she yelled, seeing the figure of a boy, appearing from behind a tree.

Panting, and trembling, the pirate girl came to a stop a step away from him. He looked like he was fourteen years old. Like the other people of Skypiea, Hiron was wearing a robe and he had little white wings on his back. He had scruffy and short, dark hair, and, oddly, a heavy frown on his childish face.

"Who are you ?" Hiron asked harshly, his clear blue eyes trailing up the pirates long and thin body.

"Eli, but we don't have time for that." The girl reached out her hand toward him. "Your mother is waiting for you."

The boy, or rather teenager looked at the pirate girl's hand before looking at her face. "No."

Without adding another word, he turned his back to his supposedly savior, and brought his hands to his mouth. "MAAAAAAA !" he yelled.

_Uh...? _Eli looked at the black haired teen as he walked away from her, yelling 'Maaa'. Of course it could have been easy, but no, she just had to deal with, yet another stubborn boy.

An arrow of lightning crashed a meter away from Eli, making the paramecia jump with a gasp of surprise.

A sigh left her mouth while she ran a hand through her messy hair.

"Wait !" In a flash she appeared next to Hiron. "We really have to go."

"MAAAAA !"

Eli rolled her eyes, seeing the angel ignoring her. Was that a way to treat his 'savior' ? The boy obviously needed to learn some manners.

"_Who_ the hell is Maaaaaaaaaa ?"

"It's Maa, and he's my sky kitten." Hiron replied in an annoyed tone of voice. "MAAAAA !"

_A sky kitten...?_ As Eli remembered the utter cuteness of the sky fox, the girl couldn't help but swoon a little while picturing what a sky kitten would look like, and, as if it was annoyed at her lack of focus, a lightning strike almost hit the girl who jumped away a split heartbeat before it hit her.

"Okay then." Eli sped up her pace to walk over to the boy who seemed outrageously calm in spite of the terror of the situation he was in. "And where is 'Maa' ?"

Turning his head to the side, Hiron glared at the girl who only shrugged. "If I knew I wouldn't be searching for him, would I ?"

"Haha..." With little sheepish laugh, Eli scratched the back of her head. "I guess you're right..."

"MAAAAAAA !"

_Uh..._ Eli raised her face to the sky, as the sounds of thunder came to a stop a once. Right above them the dark cloud opened, letting a large ray of light hitting Angel Island. As she covered her eyes to shield her orbs from the sudden brightness, the pirate girl distinguished the silhouette of a man framed by the sun.

_Enel..!_

Gradually, his figure turned blur as an aura of electricity gathered around his body. Eli had no idea what he was doing, but it was growing huge. From where she was, the paramecia could hear the chirping sound of the thunder ball growing louder by the second.

Eli's green gaze snapped toward Hiron. Apparently too focused on finding his pet; the boy was still yelling its name, completely unaware of the deadliness of the situation.

With a hard swallow, she grabbed his shoulder. "Hiron !" As his big blue eyes met hers, Eli felt her throat tightening. He was innocent, he was only looking for his animal, and she didn't want to take that away from him. Briskly, the pirate girl wrapped her arms around him and pulled the boy against her chest.

"Hold on tight !"

"What are you-"

The boy's cut himself short as Eli started running as fast as she could through the forest until a little 'Maaahhh' reached her ears.

Following the mewing, the paramecia, jumped in the air to reach a tall tree. In its trunk a little hole, and inside, small and shiny green orbs. Without wasting a second, the girl plunged her hand inside of the hole, wincing in pain, as she felt tiny claws scratching her skin frantically.

"MAA !" Hiron yelled happily as he turned around to grabbed the frenzied animal from the bleeding hands of the pirate girl.

A hearty smile brightened his childish face as he hugged his cute kitten.

"Good," Eli said. "Now let's get away from here."

As she turned around to let Hiron to climb on her back, Eli stared upwards. The humongous and dark ball of thunder was falling toward them.

It seemed that Hiron had noticed it at last. Looking over her shoulder, Eli saw the boy's big blue eyes filled with dread as he gazed at the sky.

"Hiron, I can do it," she said kindly. "Trust me."

With a trembling nod, the boy put his kitten in Eli's bag and wrapped his arms around of the beanpole.

Feeling his heart beating with force against her back, the paramecia took a deep intake of air. The twitching in her every muscle, the ear-tearing chirping from above her that was growing louder and louder, the shadow cast by the giant and dreadful ball of thunder looming over her, the tremblings of the boy's body pressed against her, and her fears... Eli hushed them all in a blink of her green eyes.

Calmly, she set her gaze in the distance, on the Skypiean ships and jumped down the tree. Eli ran, straightforward, never looking back. She ran, with all of her haste, with all of her force, with courage and faith. She ran, carrying on her back the weight of a life...

The angels didn't care that their homeland was reduced to nothingness the moment the monstrous cataclysm struck it's dreamy ground. Their eyes clinging on a boy, his kitten, and a pirate girl slumping on the ark of their salvation, the smiles that brightened their face outshone the darkness of such a disastrous loss.

It was just a life, but in the eyes of a blue-eyed angel, a seed of hope, and with it, the faith in brighter tomorrows.

to be continued

* * *

_So, this was Eli's 'big' scene. I know it's not that much but I still find it pretty awesome :)_

_See you soon._

_ps : only one chapter next week (Thursday I guess), I have a particularly busy weekend (sorry)._


	75. The Sound Of Faith

**Chapter 75  
****The Sound Of Faith**

After saving Hiron's life, Eli wasn't prepared to face another danger; his mother's hug. Almost strangled in the tight embrace, the beanpole waved for help, fruitlessly, as the Skypieans watched the scene with hearty amusement.

"Conis..." Eli whined, looking at the blond angel with huge, desperate eyes.

A lovely laugh, resembling that of the sound of tinkling bells left the winged girl's mouth as she looked at the pirate's face flushed in both embarrassment and suffocation.

"Let her go mom," Hiron said, standing by his mother's side.

"HIRON !" Finally unclasping her arms from around Eli, the woman wrapped them around her son's body, a gasp escaping his mouth as she did. "Stupid, stupid boy..." she said, rapidly brushing the boy's scruffy mane.

A hand on her chest, Eli breathed deeply, enjoying the air as it filled her empty lungs at last. With every breath she took, a smile appeared on her face while she gazed at the family reunited.

"Thank you," Eli whispered as she gave Hiron a mischievous wink before turning around to face Conis. "We can go now," she said.

The blond nodded and the two girls walked over to her vehicle. It looked like Nami's and was apparently called a waver. Thanks to a Breath Dial equipped at the rear of the little ship, it was capable of moving on the sea without the help of a sail. Somehow, it reminded Eli of Ace's Striker and at that thought, the pirate's green gaze trailed toward the Upper Yard.

A huge ship was floating in the sky, right above the giant beanstalk, and higher, black clouds were boiling, noises resembling roars of anger emanating from the dark mass. Dozens of thunderbolts were relentlessly striking the holy land; God's fury was devastating.

"We have to go to the Merry," Conis said as she grabbed the handles of her waver. "Usopp and Sanji were badly injured."

With a nod, Eli wrapped her arms around the angel's thin body and soon, the blowing sound of the dial propelling the vehicle filled her ears. The pirate girl was once again very weak, and gladly, she had accepted the free ride to save the little stamina she had left. After all, she had no idea of what was waiting for her on the Upper Yard. Were her friends still fighting ? They had to, for defeat was utterly unacceptable. They had to, for the sun had yet to cast its hopeful light on the country in the sky.

"Merry !" Eli cried happily, as the little sheepy ship appeared in the distance. Docked on the Upper Yard, it was immobile, its figurehead smiling imperturbably despite the thunderbolts striking around it.

The two girls climbed aboard, their heels tapping with force on the wooden deck as they searched for the pirates.

"Suu~"

To the sound of the cute cry, the girls' heads snapped in the direction of the little sky fox. His fluffy tail waving rapidly, it had a worried frown on his face.

"Suu." Conis opened her arms and, as she crouched, the fox jumped on her chest. "Where are Sanji and Usopp ?" the angel asked, rubbing gently the soft fur of her pet.

"Suu ! Suuu !" The fox shook his head rapidly, his worried frown further furrowing.

At that moment, Eli knew where they were, where they _all_ were. The bonds that had formed through their adventures tightened on her insides like a metallic net, pushing the girl to look upward, at the sky. The floating ark, it obviously was Enel's, and they were all there, fighting against a God for the salvation of this country, and Eli knew, above all, that she had to be with them.

"Conis." Her eyes clinging on the ark, the pirate girl tapped her toes on the deck, preparing her legs for one last run. "I'll be leaving the Merry in your care."

"Please..." The blond angel gazed at the beanpole, a faint smile on her face. "Please, be safe."

"Don't worry." Eli gave the worried girl the thumbs up while sporting Luffy's trademark grin on her face. "It'll soon be over."

Both girls nodded and Eli took off like a shot. Ignoring the fatigue and the pain, she dashed through the giant forest over to the beanstalk. The thunderbolts accompanying her every heartbeat, a bright sensation washed over her as she reached the cocoon of cloud protecting the ancient city of gold. Figures, very familiar, were standing there and as her green eyes traveled on each of them, the girl felt her forces coming back in her weakened body.

Relief, however, had yet to completely ease the pirate girl's anxiety. Bodies were lying on the soft ground... Speeding up her pace, she appeared next to Sanji and Chopper motionless figures and the little Shandian girl who was sitting by their side.

A quick yelp left the little girl's mouth as a swift breeze swept her hair away with the paramecia's brisk arrival.

Hard pants burning her throat, Eli stared at the blond and the little reindeer. "Are they... alright ?"

"ELI !" She heard from behind her.

Looking over her shoulder, she saw Usopp and Ace running in her direction.

"Sanji... Chopper..." Slowly, she stood up and ran her hand in her messy hair.

"They are okay," Ace said as he came to a stop in front of the girl.

The moment she saw his freckled face, Eli couldn't force down the large smile that brightened her own. Just like the other pirates, he seemed rather exhausted but alive nonetheless.

"O-kay OKAY ? Are you kidding ! We have to leave now Eli ! This is a nightmare !" His legs trembling just like his high pitched voice, dread was painted over Usopp's face.

"Where... are..."

"Nami and Luffy are up there," Ace said calmly, causing Eli to look up at the beanstalk

Ace took a step forward, his shoulder almost brushing against hers. "You did it again..." he said quietly.

Turning her head to the side, Eli looked questioningly at his grave face.

"You were there and.. and when the island vanished I..." Ace took a deep breath and turned his head to look at his lover. "We were worried about you, Eli. You took reckless risks once again and we didn't even know if you were alive or not."

Eli was silent and thoughtful as she looked deeply in the flame user's dark eyes. She reminded the bomb incident in Alabasta and the worry she has caused him then.

"Girl," Gan Fall called out. "Is everyone safe ?"

"They are alive," she said loudly as Eli held the flame user's deep gaze.

"Trust me, just like they all do," she whispered for only Ace to hear. "Just like you trust Luffy..."

Slowly, she lifted her hand to his shoulder.

"Don't-"

At the moment her skin brushed against his, Eli felt pins and needle vibrating inside of her flesh. The burning wave raced from her hand throughout her body in a split second. Despite her wide open eyes, the girl saw blank while she was thrown away like a shot until she roughly hit the fluffy ground.

"Wha.. What..." Eli shook her head rapidly. "What... happened...?"

In her swirly field of vision, she saw Ace hurrying to her side. Frantically, the girl scrambled backwards away from the dangerous young man while Usopp's laughs filled her thudding ears.

"Don't touch me !" she yelled, as the mighty shivers running under her skin gradually dissipated.

"I'm filled with electricity." Ace sighed. "Sorry, I should have told you."

"Yes." Eli rubbed rapidly her trembling arms. "It would have been nice."

"Are you okay ?" Usopp asked. A frown on his face he seemed genuinely worried about the girl condition, who, taken aback, only nodded wordlessly. "Great ! Let's get out of here _now_ !"

Eli's jaw went a little slack as she watched the marksman's hands moving in all directions. Surely, he feared for his safety more than for hers.

"Wiper ! WIPER !"

As she stood up shakily, Eli stared at the little Shandian girl, trying to remember her name... _Aisa_. A frown on the childish face, the girl was stomping on the floor while yelling the name of her elder countryman. Useless, the man was looking fixedly at the dreadful scenery of the Upper Ward being swept by God's fury.

Shandians were the descendants of Jayans, Robin explained. They had been sent into the skies along with their homeland four hundred years ago. Their island was torn apart and, as they reached the sky, the people of Shandia, already shaken by terrible losses, were driven out of their home by the Skypieans.

The angels saw in the fertile island a holy ground sent by higher forces just for them. And so, the war began. The war over the new and rich land that had appeared in the skies with the magnificent ringing of a golden bell.

"Did you say something about..." Wiper turned around to look at Robin. "... a golden bell ?"

"Yes." The archaeologist pointed upward. "It's up the stalk," she simply said.

"Enel is after that bell...!" Wiper glared at the ark flying above the beanstalk.

"Let's follow Nami's plan and go back to the ship !" Usopp screamed, louder than the monstrous storm. "Just leave everything to Luffy !"

"Shut up Usopp or I'll _touch_ you," Ace said, and as the flame user reached out his hand in his direction, the long-nosed teen jumped backward, slamming his hands on his big mouth.

Shifting his gaze from the now quiet marksman to the Shandian warrior, Zoro had a thoughtful look on his bruised face. While she looked at his face and then at Ace as the black-eyed pirate stared up the beanstalk, Eli knew that they shared the same thoughts.

"That bell.." she said quietly, now looking at the dark sky as well. "Luffy is going to make it ring..."

* * *

"_Hey ! In the golden city, there should be a HUGE golden bell, right ?" Luffy asked with a face-splitting grin._

"_Yes," Robin said, looking above her shoulder. "It was recorded in Norland's logbook."_

"_Why did you ask ?" Zoro said._

"_I just had a very funny idea !" Luffy laughed. "If I ring that bell REALLY hard here, Chestnut mister and the gorillas will hear it, right ?"_

_Ace and Eli chuckled at the rubber teen's cheerful behavior._

"_They sure will !" Ace said, patting his little brother's back._

_

* * *

_

"He said he was going to make it ring and there is no way Nami can get him to come down," Ace said, very aware of the strength of his brother's resolve.

Zoro nodded. "This means that his target is the same as Enel."

Once he had set his mind on something, nothing could make the young captain move. Carelessness, stupidity, or utter faith no matter what was the thing that was pushing him forward, Luffy never looked back.

Therefore, his crew was to remain here, in the middle of the wrathful storm, waiting for the saving sound of a golden bell nestled in the highest clouds of the land in the sky.

"DANGER !" Usopp yelled, almost deafening Eli and Ace who were unfortunately very close to him.

The two tall pirates blasted a glare of pure hatred at the long-nosed teen, who, after slamming once again a hand on his mouth, lifted his trembling arm upward.

"Something is falling down," Usopp squealed from behind his palm, holding with difficulty his crewmates harsh stares.

A leaf was falling down along side of the beanstalk. Slowly, it floated from the right, to the left, to the right. Usopp dove onto the fluffy ground with a loud yell of fear despite the slowness of the leaf's fall.

"There's a message on it," Eli said as she rapidly studied the leaf. "_Cut the beanstalk, and make it fall westward._"

As they looked upward, the pirates could see that the direction to which they were supposed to cut the beanstalk into was Enel's ark. Hovering in place at the west of the stalk, a little cloud was floating by its side. Was the golden bell there ? Had it been waiting for four hundred year nestled on this little cloud ?

"UWAAH !" Usopp bleached face, turned blue, as he stared upward.

The group gasped as the reflection of a gigantic ball of thunder emerged from the sky darkened their eyes. It was even bigger than the previous one which had wiped Angel Island in a few seconds.

"ENEL !" Wiper screamed, anger spreading in the air with his hoarse voice.

"That monster..." Gan Fall muttered.

"There is no way we can get away from that..." Usopp lifted his hands to his face that was distorted in bewilderment and dread. "We are doomed !"

"Luffy and Nami have a plan," Ace said pointing at the leaf. "They are going to use the beanstalk as a bridge to reach Enel's ship."

"That's suicide !" Usopp yelled.

"Is it a suicide or a working solution ?" Zoro asked. "We won't know until we try."

Eli nodded. "And it's not like we've got any other option."

The God of the Sky Country, however, didn't seem like he agreed with the pirates' plan. More thunder bolting from above, right into the soft ground, its anger spread from the skies to the pitiful humans and their feeble hopes. As fast as they could, they ran for cover while the blinding arrows pierced through the cocoon of cloud, revealing the magnificent sight of the ancient city of Shandia, buried for four hundred years.

Panting hardly, Zoro was barely standing. His body was bruised but his faith in his captain wasn't shaken by his exhaustion. With a gasp, the swordsman unsheathed one of his swords and dashed over to the beanstalk.

Swiftly, he jumped and raised his blade to cut a part of the beanstalk in a flash. But as the swordsman touched the ground, a thunderbolt raced in the air in his direction. As fast as she could, Eli took off and dashed over to her crewmate, her green eyes flickering rapidly as the rays of light petrified the young man right under the paramecia's bewildered gaze.

Shot in the air for a second, Eli jumped on the wild wind to catch Zoro just in time before be fell on down toward the city of Shandia.

"HELP !" Eli yelled, feeling Zoro's weighting heavily on her frail arms.

Her eyes closed, Robin popped a hundred hands to make the swordsman roll to safety.

"It's not falling down !" Usopp yelled pointing at the beanstalk.

Unfortunately, Zoro's mighty attack wasn't enough and the stalk, if slightly shaken, was still standing upright. Unfortunate indeed that the only one of the pirates who could cut was now lying unconscious on the ground that was threatening to collapse because of the relentless assaults of the thunder Logia.

"TSULALA !"

A loud cry of pain caused the group's attention to snap in the direction of the beanstalk. Next to it, the giant snake, the one Enel called King of the Sky lifted himself high up. It was crying, an endless flow of tears pouring from his giant eyes, and with another heart-breaking cry, it shot its head to the stalk. The impact resonated throughout the ruins of its beloved city while the group wordlessly watched the beanstalk titling from a side to the other.

Eli's green gaze followed its swaying from left to right, while the King of the Sky collapsed on the little patch of cloud still remaining around of the stalk. The amplitude declined, and with it, the hopes of success. As it came to a stop, the giant reptile slipped gradually from the cloud, and fell onto the stone ground of the ancient city, the storm roaring louder than before, as if it was mocking the group.

Was it the end ? For once, Eli let the darkness engulf in her mind with uncertainty. She could flee. Looking at the gigantic ball of thunder gradually descending from the dark skies, Eli knew she could flee. The paramecia could run and live. The little energy she had left was enough for her to run away, run away with her life. But then what ? Running away she would leave her hopes, behind, she would leave all that she lived for behind. Her dreams, her family... her love.

And so, desperate, she ran. Not for her own life, but for theirs. Eli ran toward the beanstalk and while she used all that she had left to make the stalk fall, Usopp and Ace joined her. They launched attacks after attacks, relentlessly. Maybe there was no hope left, but that was the only thing they could do.

They were exhausted, and in the cries the pirates uttered, their pain, their frustration, their crushed hopes barely got heard as they were nothing compared to the wrathful storm of their doom.

"Eli you have to run !"

The girl squeezed her eyes shut as she heard the voice of her lover. She had heard that before...

"Take Aisa with you ! Eli !"

She heard him and rage as well as dismay started burning inside of her. _Not again..._

"ELI !"

"NO !" Finally she stopped the endless hammering of her heels on the stalk, feeling pain spreading all over her trembling body as she did. "Don't ask me to leave... Not you !"

Slowly, Eli turned her face around to look in the eyes of the flame user. "Didn't I promise you ?" Tears started gathering on her big green eyes. "I won't run away... Not ever again."

"Move pirates !"

From behind Ace, Eli saw wiper dashing in her direction. Snapping his head around, the flame user jumped away from the Shandian warrior's path.

"What are you-"

Without a word, Wiper pushed the pirate girl away. A gasp escaping her mouth, Eli flew in the air while watching bewilderingly as the Shandian, pressed his palm on the stalk.

"REJECT !"

A loud explosion sound burst in her ears as the base of the green stalk blasted in tiny particles.

And it fell. Slow at first, the beanstalk bent to the side before plummeting faster. It fell.

With its fall, the screams of Usopp pervaded on the Upper Yard as well as those of Aisa. They yelled the name of their only hope, they yelled to the dark skies, hoping to be heard by the young pirate.

_Luffy._

Thunder blots roaring from all around her, Eli felt the soft floor she was lying onto collapsing. Yet she couldn't move. She felt herself sliding down while her eyes clung on the top of the beanstalk. Her thoughts were hollow, colorless. Emptily, she stared at a little dot flying from the tip of the stalk to the monstrous ball of energy.

_Luffy..._

Hands, probably Robin's caught the paramecia during her fall, and laid her gently on the ground of the ancient city of gold, next to the last remaining bit of the beanstalk, but the girl feeble attention was only focused on the large ball of thunder. It was emitting a bright light. It was blinding, yet her eyes couldn't leave its sight. And, in a heartbeat, it vaporized to nothing along with the dark clouds that were looming on the floating country.

The sky was so blue then, luminous, like never before, and as the rays of the sun touched her body, Eli felt a warm and vibrant sensation washing over her... Hope.

"RING IT BRAT !" Wiper yelled. "RELIGHT THE LIGHT OF SHANDIA !"

Eli couldn't force down the smile that was brightening her face, nor could she stop the flow of tears streaming from her eyes and, with the most beautiful sound she had ever heard, she felt her heart beating with every golden rings of the lost bell of Shandia. She could feel love, and dreams, and hopes, all merging and shining inside of her. She could feel her very soul singing with that magnificent sound...

The sound of faith itself.

"_When we reached that island we heard a very loud ringing sound of bells. The sound from those gigantic, beautiful bells made of gold can be heard from all the corners of the sea, like a message delivering the city's glory in the old days. The change in civilizations throughout the ages in the endless oceans is for us, who have lived but a few dozen years, a grand matter that left us speechless !_"

to be continued

* * *

_While writing this chapter, I really became more aware of how moving and powerful the sound of the golden bell was. I think that writing this fic allows me to project myself deeper in the world of One Piece that when I was just a lazy watcher. Of that I am glad :)_

_I hope you liked this chapter. I don't exactly know when will be the next because, sadly, I'm a bit sick. Nothing worrying but still slightly incapacitating._

_See you soon._

_I would like to publicly thank __**Sara Tatakai **__for her wonderful drawing of Eli (it is now linked on my profile). Thank you very much for loving my story :)_


	76. True Self

**Chapter 76  
****True Self**

The soundless golden ring of the bell resonated in the darkness Eli was floating into. Black and bright at the same time, she let herself being carried away. A touch, a grip, warm and gentle transported the girl before vanishing to nothingness, forgotten in the vibrant void of her sleep.

In the mist of this endless space, a tender sensation washed over her body while, emptily, Eli knew that she could rest peacefully.

And then, after what seemed like an eternity and a split second all the same, the pirate slowly woke up. Something soft and warm was breathing against her neck while joyful sounds made their way to her ears.

Her green eyes easily opened as the bright blueness of the sky had been replaced by a deep black scattered with stars. A little sound left her mouth with her first movements; the pain in her body had vanished only to be replaced by a heaviness very unfamiliar to the girl.

"Maa~"

Rolling her head to the side, Eli saw that the warmth fluttering against her skin was none other than that of the little sky kitten she had rescued not so long ago. Yet, still a bit dazed, she gazed wordlessly at the little ball of white fur purring to side. That was new... The creature did not seem scared nor angry. In its big blue orbs, the pirate girl, dared she, even saw affection.

"Maaa~" The kitten lifted his tiny paw and touched Eli's face before rolling on his side playfully.

Eli felt her heart melting inside of her chest as Maa rubbed his fluffy cheek against hers.

"Maa don't-"

"Shh... She must be in heaven right now."

Turning her head to the other side, Eli was welcomed by two smiling faces. First, she saw Hiron's, he was sitting next to her camp bed, and to his side, Ace. The freckled young man was watching her, he was surely mocking her, yet something warm and gentle emanating from his lovely face reached and enveloped the girl on the spot.

"Hey," Eli said, before clearing her sore throat. "Are you... okay...?"

"I'm fine." Ace lifted a hand and moved his fingers slowly before reaching it out for the top of Hiron's head.

"No !" Eli said in a weak yelp.

"Uh ?" Rolling his blue eyes upward, Hiron squinted at Ace's grinning face.

"See ?" The flame user messed up the boy's scruffy mane. "No more electricity."

Obviously, the black haired pirate had managed to discharge the electricity that was previously lingering in his body. A sigh of relief left Eli's mouth as she let her lifted upper body crash on the bed.

Despite further waking up with every passing breath, the girl still felt very exhausted, heavy, and... slow. Slower than before; the world revolved around her and Eli couldn't follow its every move like she usually did. Things shifted in the corners of her eyes, and before she could identify them they vanished while the sound that pervaded in the ruins of the ancient city, if joyous, grated on her ears.

As a loud growl resonated from her stomach, Eli reckoned of its emptiness, blaming it for her lack of energy. Hopefully, the scent of spices and meats reaching her nostrils, her green eyes scoped the area, the growls her hollow guts uttered growing embarrassingly louder at the sight of a huge banquet. Giant fishes and chunks of meat were roasting over a large campfire under the gleeful gaze of a winged crowd.

"Hiron." Eli turned her face to look at the blue-eyed boy. "Why are you all here ?"

"Angel Island was destroyed." A smile on his face, the boy grabbed his little kitten and placed it on his shoulder. "We are going to live here now."

_A new home... _As her green gaze traveled around her on the ruins of the ancient city of Shandian, Eli saw that not only the Skypians were enjoying this joyous party, the Shandians were here too. They were mingling together, as if they were friends. Talking with each other, laughing with each other; apparently their old grudge had been washed away by the salvaging sound of the golden bell.

"The Shandians are here too." Hiron gazed at his new fellow countrymen, the flame of the campfire dancing in his lovely azure eyes. "The war is over."

The fact that is was the voice of a young boy, and the comfort emanating from those simple words, put a smile on the pirate girl's childish face. Silently, Eli sat up and wallowed in the joy and the warmth of it all, ignoring how painful it was for her exhausted mind. It was amazing, almost unbelievable. A few days ago, they were fighting, a few hours ago, they were threatened of annihilation and now, under the silver light of the full moon, Shandians and Skypieans were dancing together, carefree and above all, free.

Slightly dazed by the content state of mind she was in, Eli failed to notice a very angry reindeer marching in her direction, a frown darkening his cute face.

"Eli !"

The girl startled, her vision blurring a bit as she did. Shaking her head, Eli focused her stare on Chopper's face while her head further titled to the side with every heavy step of the reindeer on the paved ground.

"Hey Chopper-"

"Don't 'Hey Chopper' me !" The little reindeer came to a stop a step away from Eli's bed and threateningly pointed one of his hooves to her face, towering very high over him. "Just how many did you take ?"

Slowness and heaviness further taking over the girl with the puzzling question and the harshness of the cute doctor's tone of voice, Eli tilted once more her head to the side before shifting her dazed gaze to Hiron and Ace who only shrugged. Very helpful.

"I don't-"

"The pills Eli, how many did you take ?" Chopper asked accusingly, folding his little arms over his fluffy chest.

Someone clearing his throat, quite loudly, had the two pirates' attention shifting to Hiron. Obviously embarrassed, he averted his gaze to look at the joyous crowd dancing in the middle of the ruins.

"I'll leave you alone." Hiron cleared his throat once more.

A pause, quite awkward, during which the three pirates stared at the blue-eyed angel who was glancing at Eli. "Thank you," he muttered before disappearing through the crowd.

"Eli !" Chopper called out, once more startling the girl with his unfamiliar harshness. "The pills..."

"I..." Eli rolled her eyes upward and thoughtfully gazed at the twinkling canopy, letting her mind travel in her fuzzy memories. Five...? No... Fifteen or so... "Ten..?" she finally offered quietly.

"TEN !" Chopper yelled, causing a quick and involuntary movement from Ace and Eli as he did. "You are insane !"

Puzzled, they stared at the little doctor as angry mumbles left his fluffy body while he went through his little bag.

"What's wrong Chopper ?" Ace asked.

"You should only have taken two." Chopper pushed Eli to lay her on the bed, and placed his stethoscope on her chest. "Don't you know how to read ?" he asked.

"Wha-"

"I had written the prescription on the bottle Eli," Chopper said gravely. "Take a deep breath and blow slowly."

The patient obediently complied yet, bitterly, she thought that it wasn't as if she had time to care for considerations such as prescriptions while hundreds of lives were at stake. Stealthily, she observed Chopper as he exterminated her body, not liking the seriousness that aged his cute face.

"Is she... sick ?" Ace asked, causing Eli to look at him kindly.

"No, I'm fine." A little smile on her face, she slowly nodded. "Don't worry."

"You're not fine Eli," Chopper said, and definitely, Eli decided that she didn't like the scolding. "You pushed your body too far and because you have almost no reserve of energy, you drew a lot from your muscles." With a deep, annoyed sigh, Chopper jumped off the girl's bed-camp. "You feel weak don't you ?"

"...yes." Eli admitted, averting her gaze.

"And slow ?"

Wordlessly, Eli nodded.

"That's what I thought." Chopper put his stethoscope back in his bag. "You'll take days, if not weeks to recover..." Slowly, he lifted his face upward and gazed at the black sky. "I shouldn't have given you those pills, they created a virtual source of energy and you went too far because of that..."

"It's not your fault Chopper !" Eli sat on the edge of her bed. "And I'm fine, don't worry." Seeing the little reindeer silent, the girl crept down by his side and listlessly wrapped her thin arms around him. "You're an amazing doctor, Chopper," she said quietly.

The reindeer giggled and wriggled in the beanpole's arms. "I know that idiot ! Your compliments don't make me happy."

Finally, Chopper seemed to loosen up a bit. He easily dragged himself out of Eli's loose embrace, and, started to walk away.

"Ah Eli." Chopper came to a stop a few steps away, causing Eli to look at his back questioningly. "Don't use your powers until I tell you so."

"What ?" The paramecia's eyes widened as she stared at Chopper, whose small back was still facing her.

"It's an order Eli." The doctor said gravely and, without adding another word, he walked away from the two pirates.

_My... powers..._ Eli was on her knees, looking absently at the crowd where the little reindeer had disappeared. She had gained her devilish abilities so many years ago. It was even such a long time ago that the girl barely remembered the days when she didn't have her powers. They were as much part of herself as anything.

"It's okay." Ace crouched by her side, and rested his hand on her shoulder. "I'm sure it's only for a few days."

Eli was still staring at the crowd, hoping to see Chopper coming back, telling her that it was some kind of joke.

"Hey look." The flame user lifted his other hand to her chin, and turned her face in his direction. "I lost mine when we arrived here. Are you saying that you can't do the same ?"

He was taunting her. Childishly, he was turning this terrible news into a stupid game of pride... Obviously, Ace knew Eli very well.

"Of course I can." Eli huffed. "And I'm not gonna whine about it like _you_ did."

Softly, the young man chuckled. He stood up and gave out his hand that Eli accepted on the spot to help her stand up, slowly. Rarely, had he beanpole been aware of how tall she was like she did then. A slight sensation of vertigo twirling in her head, she took grip on Ace's arm to prevent her fall.

"You want me to carry you ?"

As she set her eyes on his, Eli did not like what she saw, worry, again. The girl was aware of the pitiful state she was in and obviously, she didn't need the gaze of her lover to her to remind her of that. Her grip on his arm tightened as she lifted her free hand, curled her fist, and pushed it into his shoulder while sporting a little frown on her face.

"Okay, okay." Ace took Eli's little fist in his large hand and put it aside. The smile he bore seemed a bit forced. "Let's get you something to eat, shall we ?"

After giving him a nod, Eli turned around and started walking in the direction of the banquet. Her hand had left his arm; she was walking on her own. Every step she took cleared the girl's consciousness; the weariness that was affecting her was like weights attached to her every member as if she was moving around in seawater.

"Here."

Eli startled seeing Ace appearing from nowhere. Was that how he felt when she was doing it to him ? Slowly, her eyes trailed down his freckled face to fall on a large plate filled with a nicely scented stew.

"Let's go sit over there," Ace said pointing his own plate in the direction of a broken stone wall, slightly far from the center of the city, where the festivities seemed to roar louder as the time passed.

As she sat down, Eli felt a warm wave traveling down her body. If short and slow, the little walk had further weakened her atrophied muscles. Thankfully, she accepted the much needed meal and started eating. The vegetables and bits of meat were soft, and soaked with subtle spices that excited Eli's weary senses. With each mouthful, the girl felt energy slowly flowing inside of her, expanding from her stomach to her members along with the warmth of the stew.

"How is it ?"

With a little questioning sound, Eli turned her head to look at Ace. He was gazing at her, his own plate already emptied of its content. When did he-

"I've never seen you eating so slowly," Ace mocked.

"I'm _savoring_ it," Eli retorted, slightly annoyed.

Ignoring his chuckles, she resumed to her meal. Now that her hunger was satisfied, the weight incapacitating her body had lifted and Eli felt that she was herself again. The world, however, was still too fast for her to follow its course. She felt normal, rested, and well, but the paramecia was still very slow. Was that how it felt to be... normal ? Until then, the girl had no idea of how much she relied on her devil fruit powers, and without them, Eli found it hard to keep track of every little shift around her.

"Oi," Zoro greeted. Two bottles of what Eli guessed was alcohol in his hands, he sat down next to the girl, against the broken wall.

With a sound resembling to a grunt, he held out his bottle in her direction.

"No thanks," Eli said before engulfing a few mouthfuls, forcing herself to speed up her pace by skipping the chewing phase.

Another sound, slightly perplex, left the swordsman as he stared at his crewmate almost choking herself. "What's wrong ?" he asked, giving his bottle to Ace.

_Wrong ? _What could be wrong about refusing a drink, Eli wondered.

"She's sick," Ace said from her side.

"Sick ?"

"I'm not-" Eli cleared her throat. "I'm not sick. Just... just a bit tired."

Looking at the two puzzled young men, the girl rolled her eyes in annoyance. Couldn't they understand that after such an exhausting adventure she needed a little time to regain her forces ? Apparently not since they were all so jumpy and _loud_.

Soon, Luffy's joyous cries made their way to the little group. He was waving at them among the people of the sky who were revolving around the giant campfire. Not far from him, Sanji was dancing with a Skypiean woman, glee brightening his face. Eli could also spot Nami and Usopp, discussing with a group of Shandians.

"You wanna go ?" Ace said, waving back at his young sibling as he spoke.

As she watched him, Eli felt a tad of guilt stirring inside of her for she knew how much Ace enjoyed partying. Yet, he stayed by her side and she disliked the state she was in. Power or not, it wasn't her. She was getting further annoyed as the beats of the music twirled in her head. The laughs, the yells, the dance, the flames... The crowd was dancing, moving, talking... It was all too much for her to bear. It was almost... painful.

"No, but you go," she said forcing a smile on her face.

But Ace didn't go. Silently he was scanning her, his dark eyes trying to pierce through the mask of her faked joy.

Uncomfortable of being studied of the sort, Eli stood up. "I'm still hungry," she lied. "I'm going to take another plate."

Without another word, she walked in the direction of the banquet.

Looking over her shoulder, Eli saw Ace joining Luffy. She put her plate on the table, and made her way through the crowd to the camp bed she had previously occupied. Still making sure she wasn't observed, the pirate girl stealthily walked over to what was left of the beanstalk. On two dozen of meters, the base was still standing, leading to a little patch of cloud, unarmed from the devastating storm that had roared over the island a few hours ago.

Eli took a step onto the giant stalk and started walking up one of the two intertwined sterns. As she got higher, the noises pervading from the ruins grew weaker, and a fresh breeze caressed her face.

After a few minutes of her lazy climbing, Eli reached the cloud. Carefully, she passed through a small hole and lifted her body onto the soft surface.

During a long moment, the girl gazed at the magical scenery the elevated point of view offered her. The sky was black, but the large full moon cast its silver rays on the greenery. Because of the fight, because of the danger, Eli had not been able to wallow of the beauty of the scenery of her surroundings. But now, perched on a little cloud towering over the giant forest of the Upper Yard, the chronicler let her eyes travel lazily on the magnificent sight.

With a sigh of content, Eli took her sleeping bad and logbook. She lay down on the fluffy ground, placed her sleeping bag over her, leaned her upper body on her elbows, and opened her precious book.

_It's been a while... _A soft smile on her face, Eli read the last written pages. It seemed like an eternity since she wrote the last words. While her green eyes glided upon the words, the recollection of the discovery of the sky island filled the chronicler's mind. So much happened in such a small amount of time...

As she reached the end of the last page, Eli searched through her bag and produced her pen. Impatient, she let her mind go back a day from then while the tip of her pen spoke her memories on the paper. The chronicler was so eager to tell the tale of the sky that she didn't feel time slipping by with every word she wrote, nor did she notice the presence of a certain pirate standing behind her.

"Twig," Ace called out, snapping the chronicler out of her concentration on the spot.

Briskly turning her head around, she watched him as he walked in her direction and lay by her side.

"I'm fine, Freckles," she said. "You should go back and enjoy the party."

"It's over now. Everyone is gone to bed."

"Oh..." Straining her ears, Eli noticed that, indeed, her surroundings had become much quieter.

However, as she looked at her last lines, the chronicler wanted to write a bit more and conclude the Straw Hats' battle against the Skypiean God.

"I want to finish that..." she said quietly.

"Okay." His head resting in the palm of his hand, Ace wrapped his other arm around Eli's back. "I can wait."

The black-eyed pirate's lips were saying otherwise, though. While his warm fingers caressed the skin of her arm, Ace was kissing the girl's shoulder slowly.

Ignoring the delicious distraction, Eli focused on her memories and she resumed her writing.

"Are you done now ?" Ace asked after what only seemed like a few minutes.

With a sigh, Eli turned her head around to look at him. The young man looked like a little boy. As their eyes met, his started sparkling with happiness. A soft chuckle left his mouth as he shifted his body a little closer to hers.

"Not yet," Eli said, forcing down the smile that titillated the muscles of her cheeks.

"Awww..." Ace's hand moved from her shoulder to the side of her back, exposed by her dungarees. "Come on..." Tauntingly, the flame user played with the rim of Eli's tube top. "For once, it's just the two of us."

"Just a few more minutes please," Eli said, pushing Ace's hand away.

Another disappointed sound left his mouth as Ace buried his face in her skin behind her arm. It wasn't like he was restraining her movements yet, Eli found it hard to command her hand to write while the young man was kissing her with such tenderness and warmth.

"Are you done now ?"

Eli let her forehead hit the pages of her book. "Yes..." she muttered against the paper. "I'm done now."

It was a complete lie. Ever since Ace had joined her, the chronicler barely managed to write down two complete sentences and their coherence were highly questionable. The flame user didn't seem to care though, a large grin on his face, he took her pen from Eli's hand, as well as her book, and put them away in her bag.

"Alright." Ace curled his fingers around Eli's small shoulder and pushed her on her back slowly. "Where were we...?"

His grin turned a bit devious as the sound of the girl's chuckles finally left her lips. Amused, Eli watched his dark eyes glimmering with delight while the young man detached the straps of her dungarees. It wasn't a time to be amused though, and the girl's chuckles quickly died out when Ace laid his mouth on her neck while one of his hands removed the clothing off her body.

Lazily, Eli stared at the twinkling canopy, feeling Ace's hands and lips roaming over her skin.

"Something's... not right..." she said quietly, dazed by the delightful sensations the flame user put her weary body through.

"Mmh ?" Ace raised his face from the girl abdomen. "You want me to stop ?"

"Don't you see ?" Leaning on her elbows, Eli set her eyes on his. "It doesn't even look real... It's _way_ too romantic."

At that, Ace laughed heartily.

"I'm serious," Eli said gravely. "We're on a freaking cloud Freckles. We're floating in the sky, under the moon..." In disbelief of the situation they were in, her green eyes looked around them. "It's all too much," she concluded, deciding that the scenery wasn't befitting their couple.

"Could be worse," Ace said obviously very amused.

"I really don't see how." With a sigh, Eli lifted her hands to her eyes and let herself fall heavily on her back.

Hearing Ace chuckle mischievously, she spread her fingers to look at him. The flame user was between her thighs, on his knees, his hands open were glowing brightly.

"What-" Eli cut herself short seeing dozens of fireflies appearing all around them.

Her green eyes were wide open and her mouth slightly agape as Eli gazed at the lights dancing all around them. Utterly dazed, she slowly lifted her hand upward to touch one of the lights. The contact was warm against her skin before vanishing a split second later.

"See ?"

The sound of his voice instantly jerking the girl out of the daze, Eli stared at Ace, hard. Feeling that a little more of this treatment would make her melt into a mushy romantic, forever. She swallowed with difficulty, fighting against her gaze which wanted to get loss in the mesmerizing beauty of it all.

"Let's go back to the snake," she said desperately.

And he laughed... Ace laughed and with the warm sound of his hearty laughter, Eli reckoned that she was already lost. No matter where they were, he would be there. Him, his tantalizing body, his delicious skin, his charming unkempt hair... His golden laughter quietened as Ace leaned forward. Without a word, he brought his lips to hers, giving the girl a soft kiss. His warm touch, his beautiful dark eyes, his irresistible charm... She was lost, and she loved it, because she loved him.

"I love y-"

For a moment, Eli stared at her hands pressed against Ace's mouth before looking at Ace himself.

"_I love you..._"

The words of another man resonating through her mind, Eli felt one of her hands moving from Ace's mouth. It was tingling, searching for something she had forgotten... it was close though, it was in her pocket. As she felt the contact of the cold metal against her fingers, Eli closed her hand on the metallic object that had left her mind but not her side.

Ace was speechless as he gazed at the girl. Slowly, the other hand that was hushing him left his mouth and she sat up.

Eli felt a bitter sensation stirring inside of her as she gradually opened her hand, revealing a silver badge lodged into her palm.

"I was born on an Island named Suta..."

to be continued

* * *

_Hey readers,_

_I'm sorry for the delay. Sadly, I am still rather sick but I still managed to write this chapter despite of that and all the other things that got in my way. December is a really busy month for me. Many birthdays and other things to plan, like Christmas shopping, and the remodeling of my living room._

_Hopefully, January should be very calm and I think I'll be able to get back to my previous updating rate then. I know I really want to !_

_I hope you liked the chapter, and see you next week ;)_


	77. Suta

**Chapter 77****  
Suta**

Memories... what a mysterious thing. Triggered by a sound, a vision, a touch, or even a smell; images long forgotten slowly seep in the mind, awakening lost feelings inside of one's very flesh. They can make people smile or frown, they can make them laugh or cry... Experienced once again, past events possess the soul of the one who remembers, erasing the present time wholly.

Overwhelmed by images she had buried so many times, so deep inside, Eli gazed at the token of her past lodged in her hand, one name echoing in her dazed mind.

_Suta... _A cursed name shared with that of a star that had vanished in the black infinity of the sky.

As an introduction and in an attempt to keep her mind clear and detached, Eli started her story with that of her home country. She related the facts just like she was told by her peers and just like they were told generations after generations. Even though Suta was founded hundreds of years before the girl was born, the legend of its birth was still told years after years. It was transmitted from the parents to their children with pride and joy.

Its founder was named Makalam, and his name inspired the Sutans with reverence, even hundreds of years after his death.

Makalam was born in some part of East Blue. The only thing that was remembered of the story of his childhood was that, at a very young age, he became an accomplished martial artist. Therefore, he soon decided to invent his own art. Was he a happy child ? Was he loved ? Apparently those memories were lost, erased by his amazing feats. Makalam was called a genius, and he was. Within the space of a dozen years, the child, and soon, man had managed to create six mighty techniques. Put together, those techniques were called Rokushiki.

After a few years, Makalam had gathered a lot of followers to whom he taught Rokushiki but, as he watched his students fighting, the master became aware of a terrible reality; his creation was one of the deadliest martial arts that had ever been used.

Therefore, in fear of spreading Rokushiki, Makalam decided to seclude his creation along with its users.

"And they followed him ?" Ace interrupted.

"Yes..." Eli said with uncertainty. "He was rather... persuasive."

"What do you mean ?"

"It was either that or death."

"Oh..."

And so began the Sutans' pilgrimage in search for a new home. Makalam's students and their families embarked on a huge ship and left everything they had behind to follow their charismatic leader and protect the secrecy of Rokushiki.

From the legends that she had been taught, Eli told Ace that not only he was a master of most martial arts, Makalam was also an accomplished astronomer. He knew the name of all the celestial bodies, and cherished their legends. This passion he transmitted to his people as, after weeks of sailing in uncertainty, one night the man spotted a new celestial body in the black sky and followed this light to guide him to his new land.

It was a small comet, and he named it Suta.

After five days and nights of following the course of the comet in direction of the south, the pilgrims caught sight of an island. It was nestled on the very edge of the Calm Belt. One of its shores extended on the sea to East Blue's safe waters.

Accepting the secluded land protected on the dangerous waters of the Calm Belt as their new home, the Sutans set up their town and houses; a new nation was born.

Generations after generation, the Sutans blindly followed the rules and teachings of Makalam. They turned his passion for the stars into a religion and pushed his fear of his creation further with each passing generation.

Long after he died, Makalam's will to keep Rokushiki secret had led the people of Suta to live under the pressure of heavy rules and traditions.

In Suta, the girls were raised to become wives and mothers primarily. They were told to act respectfully toward the traditions and toward the men. To that purpose they were raised to be well-behaved, obedient, and conscientious of their appearances. Even if they were allowed to go to school until the age of fourteen -yet most of the teachings included sewing, cooking, gardening, etc...- and because they were meant to be wives, and not soldiers, women weren't allowed to learn Rokushiki.

To protect the secrecy of the deadly martial art, no one was allowed to leave Suta, and if outsiders were to set foot on the island, they had two options: either they stayed and became Sutans or, if their wish was to leave, they were executed on the spot. But visitors were extremely rare. So the Sutans lived in autarky, completely oblivious of the events happening throughout the world. Passing on their own narrow-minded sciences, traditions, and beliefs to the next generation.

And so, in secret, they lived their lives, foolishly believing that their rules would protect them and their precious Rokushiki from the rest of the world.

After a moment of silence, Ace placed his hand on Eli's shoulder. The girl was gazing thoughtfully at the stars, trying to find the words to mouth the dreadful fate of her people.

"And...?" he asked quietly, the soft brush of his fingers on her nape urging Eli to go on.

Startled, the girl shifted her gaze to the flame user's face. A sigh. "And then... they..." Eli sighed. "_We_ were attacked."

It was a day of summer; or rather, a night. A few weeks after Eli's fourteenth birthday, and despite the years, the recollection of that night played vividly in the girl's mind.

"_...Elisabeth..."_

_The girl shifted in her bed, covering her head with her pillow._

"_Elisabeth !"_

"_Whaaaat...?" Eli moaned, wincing as she felt a strong grip on her arm. "Dad...?"_

"_You have to get up. Now !" Jedd walked away from his daughter's bed and briskly opened her chest of drawers._

_Rubbing her heavy eyes, Eli sat up groggily. "But dad... it's still night," she said looking at the darkness prevailing outside the window of her bedroom._

"_I know."_

_Now looking at her father, Eli wondered if she wasn't still asleep. Usually calm and level-headed, the man seemed frenzied. Without saying a word, he was filling a bag with different pieces of clothing._

_Puzzled by this unfamiliar behavior, the girl stood up and took a few steps in the direction of her father. Hesitantly, she lifted her hand and rested it on his large shoulder. Jedd seemed as if frozen by the touch of his daughter. Wordlessly, he stared in front of him as if he was searching for something._

"_What are you doing dad ?" Eli asked tilting her face to the side to see his._

_With a deep sigh, the man turned around and curled his hands around his daughter's arms. "We are being attacked," he said, starling Eli with this puzzling revelation. "You must leave."_

_Without adding another word, Jedd resumed the preparation of his girl's bag._

"_But...but... that's impossible..." Eli stammered. " Who ? Why...? How ?" She was staring at her father's back, hoping that she could read the answers on the fabric of his uniform._

"_It's not important." Another masculine voice was heard in the girl's little bedroom. "What matters is that you leave."_

"_Towa..."_

"_Ah, Etowaru." Jedd walked over to the young man. "Is everything ready ?"_

_The Sutan soldier nodded._

"_Good, good," the man said absently. "Here." He handed Eli's bag to Etowaru. "I put my trust in you Etowaru."_

"_I.. I... I don't understand..." Eli said quietly. "Tell me what's going on. Who's attacking us ? And why ?"_

"_Don't worry." Jedd turned around and gazed deeply into his daughter's green eyes with his own, something strong yet indescribable stirring in his orbs. "As long as you're fine... Everything will be alright."_

"_But dad-"_

_The man wrapped his strong arms around the skinny body of his daughter, hushing the girl on the spot with this unfamiliar display of affection. His hold on her was strong, yet, shivering..._

"_Dad...?" Eli called out hesitantly, looking at Etowaru in search for an explanation._

"_I love you Elisabeth..."_

_The girl found herself speechless then. Of course she knew that her father loved her, he had proved that love day after day. He had taught her how to walk, taken care of her, protected her... and of course he had loved her but never had he ever mouthed those words. Something was wrong about those words, something very wrong and frightening._

_Jedd unclasped his arms from around the girl and walked to the door. "Take care of her Etowaru."_

_Stunned on the spot, Eli stared at the door. It was then that she heard them... Faintly, the yells reached her ears, and louder, just like her heartbeats. Her homeland was under attack. It was unprecedented, it was unbelievable, yet it was real. Just as real as the explosions that could be heard from afar, just as real as the screams of the Sutans, and just as real as the tears that started flowing from Eli's green eyes._

"_We have to go." Etowaru took a few steps toward the girl and turned around. "Climb."_

_Eli rubbed her salty eyes roughly. "Where ?"_

"_Climb Lizzie !"_

"_No ! Tell me what's-AH !"_

_A frown on his face, Etowaru grabbed the girl's waist and threw her over his shoulder._

"_Soru..." he muttered._

_At a speed that even the fruit user barely could follow, Etowaru ran. In a split second, they left her house, and like the lightening, he dashed through the town of Suta. Thanks to her speed, Eli saw her fellow countrymen, or rather women and children. Dread painted across their faces, they were fleeing their homes, while, in the distance explosions cast their destructive lights upon the dark night._

_After a few second, Etowaru came to a stop at the northern shore of Suta. Apart from them, no one could be seen._

"_Why are we here ?" Eli looked around questioningly, stunned at the moment her eyes fell on a little boat. "We should evacuate into the jungle..." she said hesitantly._

"_It's not safe enough."_

_Silently, Etowaru put the girl's bag in the boat. Gazing at the young man before observing the boat, the questions in the girl's mind multiplied. It had a sail. None of the Sutan's rafts had a sail. Fishermen used oars... never sails._

"_Towa..? Where did you get that boat ?"_

"_I stole it," he said, causing Eli's green eyes to grow wide. "It's a lifeboat. I stole it from one of our attackers' ships."_

"_Attackers...?" Eli slowly turned her head around at the sound of yet another explosion. It was closer. "Wait ! Who are they, and why am I here...?"_

_But she knew; Eli knew the answer. She had read it in the eyes of her father, and now in that of the Sutan soldier. They wanted her to flee._

"_I want to fight too !" Eli said loudly, kicking the sand as she spoke. "You know I can."_

_A soft smile on his face, the black-eyed young man got closer. Silently, he brought his hand to Eli's face and cupped her cheek. "You have to live."_

"_What ? Are you planning to die !"_

_Etowaru pressed his forehead on hers. The closeness, the danger, the fear, Eli didn't know what was causing it but shivers raced under her skin at the unexpected contact._

"_I don't know..." he said quietly._

_The young man was still smiling but there was something sad in his voice, something cold in his touch, something akin to regret that wrapped and tightened around the girl's insides._

"_But I know you won't... and that's enough." Etowaru closed his eyes for a second as he took a deep intake of air._

"_Why ?" Dark eyes reflecting green ones, Eli gazed deeply at the young man's gentle face. "Towa... I want to fight... with dad... with you..."_

_With another deep breath, the black-haired young man lifted his face from hers. "I knew you'd say that, but you can't."_

"_Why ?"_

"_I love you."_

_At that moment, Eli's jaw literally dropped. While she stared wordlessly at the Sutan soldier, his gorgeous face, his beautiful hair, his gentle smile... the words she had been hoping to hear all of her life playing over and over in her head._

"_I... I..."_

_Her throat was so tight that she could barely breathe. So many thoughts jostled in her mind. Her love of him, his smile, her father, her people... Eli felt that she was losing footing inside the whirling of emotions she was in. Suddenly, she felt a pain in her neck, right were Etowaru's hand was resting._

"_Live..."_

_That was the last sound that barely reached her ears as Eli's vision twirled and plummeted tremendously fast toward a black nothingness._

Absently Eli rubbed her cold arms. It was almost over now. Just a few more words and she wouldn't be alone anymore to know the secret of the death of Suta. Just a few more, and the weight would surely lift from her chest.

"Eli..."

The girl was staring at the silver badge nestled in the palm of her hand. Lost in the coldness of her memories, she gradually felt a gentle warmth covering her as Ace got closer. Silently, he shifted in her direction and sat behind her. He wrapped his arms around the shivering body of his lover and rested his chin on her shoulder; his familiar heat giving her the strength to finish her tale, once and for all.

"And then I woke up..."

_When she opened her eyes from a long and dreamless sleep, little bright lights passed gradually through her heavy eyelids, reflected in her hazy green orbs. It was night, it was still night._

_Briskly, she sat up and scoped her surroundings, her frightening surroundings. Blackness as far as her eyes could see, she was in the middle of the ocean. The dangerous ocean, the forbidden ocean, being a Sutan as well as a fruit user this unknown and frightful sight only was enough to make her heart pound dangerously against her ribcage._

_Where was her home ? Her family ? Her people ? They were probably fighting. They had to be fighting, because if they weren't it could only mean one thing._

_Eli shook her head rapidly. Her people were proud, they were strong, they were courageous, and they were still alive. She knew it._

_Her long and wild hair was swept by the cold and salty night wind while her thoughts thudded hard in her ears. With a deep, frozen breath, Eli plucked up her courage. Slowly, she lifted her childish face to the sky and gazed at the shiny dots scattered on the black canopy._

_The green-eyed girl knew the stars. She knew their names and story. They were part of her people, and she knew that they would help her find her way back home._

_After a few hours of sailing, the golden light of the sun appeared at the east. It set the steel blue of the sky on fire while the Sutan girl's eyes clung on other flames... that of her country._

_It was dying... the fire was dying and the fumes emanating from the little island carried the scent of burnt flesh. The remains of what was once houses and building were smoldering, slowly turning to ashes._

_Emptiness was prevailing in her mind as Eli set foot on the soil of her home country. The silence of the streets, the smell and the sight of corpses scattered on the ground... they echoed in her the hollowness that had replaced her mind._

_And so she walked, like a dead soul among the dead bodies of her people. Was she searching for something ? Someone maybe ? In any case she soon found it. She found them. The two men she loved._

_Her father first and then her lover._

_They had been fighting. She could tell. She could tell from the wounds, she could tell from the blood. It was staining their uniforms, the ones they were so proud to wear. It was reddening the silver of their badges..._

Eli could feel the tears streaming from her eyes, she could feel the pain burning like a fresh stab in her Sutan flesh, she could hear her own cries, the ones she had uttered years ago as she was kneeling by the side of the ones she loved and she could also feel his warmth, tender and protective, comforting and understanding.

The girl wasn't looking at Ace when she was crying in his arms. Not because she feared his reaction -for she knew that she would see nothing but love in his eyes- but because she couldn't bear to see her own reflection in the blackness of his gaze, she would surely see a little girl there, a little girl that had lost everything.

The girl had wanted to die then. She thought she had to. They were all dead after all. All of her people, all of her family, every one and thing she loved. They had all disappeared in the night. But Eli had chosen to live. For the ones who died she had convinced herself back then. The last of the Sutan people... She thought that she had to live the lives of hundreds of people.

What a lie.

Eli had chosen to live because she wanted to live, because she deserved to live. And then...

"I found you... Luffy and you..." Eli roughly wiped her tears away as she lifted her face and braved the fear of his eyes. Green meeting dark, the girl felt a grand and warm sensation washing over her; she had made the right choice. "Thank you."

A sound left his mouth as Ace lifted a hand to scratch his temple. "I..." The young man cleared his throat. "No biggie...?"

A weak smile on her face, Eli shifted her gaze back to the silver badge in her hand. _Towa..._

"Hey." Ace brought his warm hand to her chin and lifted her face to look at Eli. "Who attacked your island ?"

"What ?"

"You don't know ?"

Slowly, Eli shook her head. That night she had wondered who was the source of the attack, but then, after discovering the massacre, that simple question had left her mind. Her people were torn away from her, and it only took a few hours. All that was left afterward was a dead island.

No, Eli had no idea who had attacked Suta, she didn't even see them and it wasn't like it mattered, was it..?

"We have to find out Eli."

"We...?" The girl frowned. "Why ?"

"Those people must have been quite powerful to wipe away a nation in a night..." he said thoughtfully before shifting his gaze to hers. "You can't just flee and forget this. You have to fight."

"But it's over now !" she claimed, and at that moment, the girl started to regret telling Ace the story of her people.

"No it's not. You're still scared."

A sting on her pride, that was all it was. "I'm not scared," she said, her frown furrowing just like his.

"Right.. Why won't you let me say that I love y-"

With wide open eyes, Eli stared at her hand once more pressed against the mouth of the man she loved. Why was she silencing him ? For the second time that night, her heart was throbbing dangerously as Ace had almost mouthed his feelings for her.

Slowly her hand fell from his face. "... I don't know."

She knew though, Eli knew from the first time he kissed her that Ace love her. She knew that he had loved her before that, and she knew that she loved him too. Then why ? Why was it so hard to hear ? It was painful. It wrapped around her like an invisible threat, freezing cold and burning at the same time.

Once more, Eli wanted to run.

"I don't know..." she lied.

"You're scared I'd die if I say it, that's why."

"That's the most stupid thing I have ever heard." Eli shook her head doggishly, ignoring the truth that pierced through her with his words. The images, the stench, the cold... It was definitely stupid, and it was definitely... true.

"Well maybe you are stupid then." Ace sighed. As if he wanted to bring her back to reality, he curled his fingers around her thin arms, warmth spreading under her pale skin. "But let me tell you something, I'm not going to die."

"Okay,_ that's_ the most stupid thing I have ever heard. You can't say that... people die."

"I won't," Ace said.

Bitterly, Eli rolled her eyes. She knew that people died, she had learn that terrible and inevitable truth a warm summer morning as she had walked among the bodies of all the people she knew.

"I promised Luffy before, and now I promise you, I won't die," Ace repeated bringing his face closer to hers. "I love y-"

For the third time, Eli hushed the young man, and for the first time, it seemed that he was getting tired of this. Glaring at her, Ace grabbed her wrists.

"I won't die."

Deeply, he looked at her and Eli felt her insides throbbing dangerously, making it hard for her to breath. With every strong heartbeat, she felt her fear swelling and screaming.

"I love you."

Then how ? How did he do this ? How three little words managed to change a dark, cold and overwhelming feeling such as fear into a bright and radiant sensation. It washed over her, cleansed her from the fears. She felt stupid then and the red blush covering her face she could feel it too. It was burning, just like her mind, just like her heart...

"Shut up," she barked averting her gaze.

"I love you Eli," Ace said again, amusement shinning with the warmth of his voice, of his touch.

"Stop saying that."

Gently, his hands trailed up her arms and curled around her shoulder. He was smiling, quite roguishly, while he pushed her on the soft ground of the cloud.

"I love you," he said again.

Ace seemed so thoroughly glad then. Gradually, Eli's heartbeats pacified. She accepted the words of love and sank into their sentiment under the flickering gaze of her lover, and as she watched those eyes, a smile crept on her lips as she understood.

"... You think that if you say this over and over again we're going to have sex, don't you ?"

"Maybe," he said, pressing his mischievous smirk against her lips. "I love you..."

to be continued

* * *

**Betaed by charmedward.**

_Merry Christmas Ace, hope you're enjoying the gift I got for you :P_

_I'm sorry I wasn't able to publish this chapter before. Thankfully, I'm not sick anymore but I'm losing myself in Christmas' craziness. That and multiple birthdays, and vacations, and parties of all kind... I really can't wait for next year to begin to have more time for me, myself, and the fic._

_Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter I worked on it with my new beta. A girl now. Please welcome __**charmedward**__. I hope we'll make a good job together._

_I wish I could promise you I'll publish the next chapter next week, but with Christmas, nothing is for certain._

_Merry Christmas all, and I hope I'll see you soon :)_


	78. The Weight of the Past

**Chapter 78  
****The Weight of the Past**

"Gomu Gomu noooo..."

From the time Eli had met with the two D brothers that was the worst alarm clock ever. Even more when the girl that had woke up with a start at the dreadful sound and found her body completely ensnared in the arms of her lover, naked.

Like a little animal caught in a trap, Eli struggled fruitlessly while the 'Rocket' got threateningly closer. Her heartbeats grew stronger and faster while the arms wrapped around her remained heavily enclosed on her exposed flesh.

Behind the clenched jaws, Eli uttered a loud gasp as she covered her body and that of Ace under the blanket. She could feel her heated breath brushing against the fabric while the regular snapping of sandals got louder as Luffy walked in their direction.

"Eli ! Ace !"

Squeezing her eyelids shut, the girl wished she could disappear from the rubbery teen's sight.

Impossible wish obviously.

Slowly, carefully, she rose her head out of the blanket. "Hey Luffy..."

A bright, face-splitting grin was the pirate's greeting.

"We're going to steal gold," Luffy said. "And then we're leaving."

Barely listening to his words as her mind was solely focused on hiding her naked body along with Ace's who was breathing against her back, Eli nodded stupidly.

"Are you coming ?"

"Sure... NO !" Eli shook her head rapidly.

A childish chuckle left Luffy's mouth and at that moment, Eli wondered if he had the remotest idea of what she was going through. Was the he aware of his brother's presence under the cover ? And more importantly, was he aware of what the two pirates have been doing to end up in such a position ?

Eli's face flushed crimson under the amused eyes of the black-haired pirate. Couldn't he just leave ?

"We'll- I mean I, _I_ will prepare the Merry," she blabbered rapidly.

"Okay."

Luffy's large grin disappeared as he turned around to leave._ Good riddance_. Eli let a deep sigh of relief escaping her mouth until she felt hands moving across her skin. Shivers racing through her flesh, Eli's head snapped around as she uncovered the man behind her.

"For how long have you been awake ?"

A chuckle left his lips as they trailed up Eli's back. So much for an answer. Apparently very amused and absolutely unperturbed at his little brother witnessing such an intimate situation, Ace's hands caressed the embarrassed girl's skin. He was on conquered land, he owned her and the thrill she felt upon remembering the previous night's ecstasy didn't work for her self control.

"Ace...?"

Eli felt his hand pulling her around while the flame user shifted on her body. His crave she could see and his want she could feel. It was pressed in the flesh of her thigh; it was gleaming in the blackness of his eyes.

"You look happy..." Eli rolled her head to the side when she saw Ace's freckles looming above her, and soon, closer to her blushing face.

"I am," he whispered into her ear before kissing her lobe. "Aren't you...?"

Oh, she was... very happy indeed, and somehow... embarrassed. It was a first. Not the first but, waking up next to a man, remembering the touch and kisses, the moans and pleasures; it was a first. Such intimacy; she was exposed. Striped from her clothes as well as her emotional armor, she was exposed.

Yet Ace did not seem to care. He was the one who had spoke his feelings though. His heart and soul were bared and it seemed that it gave him even more strength and, obviously yet oddly, it also gave the flame user an upper hand on her.

"We have to go." Eli threw her hand in the direction of her clothing.

"No way." Ace smirked against her neck. "I'm not letting you go... not you Eli..."

_Not... me...?_ As he plunged his large hand in her hair, a soft moan left Eli's mouth causing Ace's kisses to grow fiercer.

"What do you mean ?" she asked quietly.

"The others..."

His kisses and his overwhelming desire.

"...they always left..."

His heated breath and his hands.

"What others ?"

They all stopped at once. Ace lifted himself up, his dark eyes meeting green angry ones; a huge 'oops' was imprinted all over his face. She knew though, Eli always knew, or at least, she imagined that there must have been _others_. She wasn't stupid and Ace wasn't the restrained kind. Yet, never had she ever pictured _them_ so vividly.

"And how many are you talking about Ace ?" Eli asked wryly.

Ace took a dry swallow while his smirk grew quickly weaker and his face paler.

"Were they pretty, Ace ? Were they kind ?"

Those questions only pained her further and deeper but the girl's restless mind was unstoppable. With every word passing through her throat, Eli felt her heart beating harder, fuelled by her blind anger. Like a large ocean wave, it rose inside of her, higher, looming threateningly before her sentiment of affection.

"Do you remember their names Ace ? Their faces maybe... or their bodies...?"

Eli had felt jealousy before but never for someone she had never seen, never for a group of people she didn't know. Yet she hated them, blindly. She felt cold engulfing her chest and burning her insides, she felt rage and shame stabbing her heart while a blinding blackness covered her senses.

"Tell me Ace."

"Listen Eli." The flame user set his gaze on hers, gravity weighting heavily in the depth of his eyes. "You're special to me, you've always been special."

Ace curled his hands around her arms, causing anger to pour throughout her body. His hands, they had touched other's body before, and the intimate moment they had shared the previous night, he had lived before.

"Don't touch me !" Eli shook her naked body and turned around, wrapping tightly the blanket around her skin.

She felt wounded to her core, ashamed and... dirty. And the worst part of it was that, Eli couldn't mouth or even see the source of such an ire. But the anger she felt, like a starving beast that was claiming for more.

However, her angry eyes widened as Eli heard Ace sigh behind her; the unbearable sound of his annoyance, sending the girl to the edge of her sanity.

"WHAT ?" she roared, jerking around. Whether it was due to his absence of clothing of any sort or shape or her ire was unknown, but as she glared at Ace, Eli's face turned crimson.

"How can you act like this !" Ace said scornfully, apparently not interested in his state of nudity. "I'm not the one who's still fantasying like a ten-year-old on a childish crush !"

"THE HELL ?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about Eli."

"You mean... Towa...?"

"...Whatever." Ace muttered, now averting his gaze.

Briskly, he stood up to get his clothes. The two pirates were both silent while the flame user was dressing. Wordlessly, Eli stared at his back, incapable of finding words as they flowed frantically through her mind. Was he right ? Did her feelings for the Sutan soldier remain no matter how much she loved Ace ? And if it was true, was there no more room left in her heart for the black-haired pirate...?

As she shook her head, Eli managed to clear her mind of the troubling thoughts blinding her from the truth of her sentiments. Slowly, she stood up as well, holding her resolve tightly in the green of her stare, just like the blanket around her.

"He's dead Ace ! He saved me and he's dead," she claimed. "And now you're-"

"And now he's mister perfection forever."

"You're being... mean..." The disdain in his voice and the disrespect for the memory of this hero felt like a punch in her stomach. "You left and had sex with all these women, and now you're turning this against me..."

"I should have waited for you for three years ? Is that what you wanted ?" He barked.

Her head dropped as Eli clenched her fists on the blanket. Her naked skin was quivering within the grasp of feelings she couldn't understand. "... I did," she said very quietly.

"What ?" Ace seemed to doubt his hearing as he looked at her from over his shoulder.

Did she ? Did she really wait for him ? Eli wasn't quite certain of the truth that had passed through her tightened throat without her consent. It was more like she had never met someone that had mad her heart pound like _he_ did.

"I... I didn't _want_ anyone else..." she stammered.

"Well, I'm sorry." His back still turned to her, Ace put on a shirt. "But I'm not perfect..." His voice low and harsh, and as he turned around to look at her, Eli lifted her face up and saw something akin to regret stirring in his eyes. "I'll never be."

"I don't want you to be perfect !" Eli said loudly. "That's not what I love about you, idiot !"

For a moment they silently stared at each other. Eli had made her point and was waiting for the flame user's counter attack. But Ace didn't say a word. No, not a word, not a sound; oddly, a smirk slowly made its way to his lips.

"What ?" Eli asked, slightly irritated.

And still.

"WHAT ?"

His smirk not losing an ounce of intensity, Ace picked up Eli's clothes and handed them to the bewildered girl. "Here."

Casually, he tucked his hands behind his neck and started walking in the direction of the beanstalk while Eli's green glare clung onto his back.

As he disappeared, her eyes fell on the pile of clothes in her arms. What could have changed his mood so suddenly ? Eli wondered while she let the blanket slide down from around her body. But the image of his smile, his freckles, and his lovely dark eyes, if mocking, brought a grin to Eli's face. With a little sigh, she quickly slipped inside of her pieces of clothing and trotted along in direction of the beanstalk.

It took her about a minute to climb down the giant vine and, as she planted her feet on the ground of the ancient city, Eli saw Ace, Zoro, and Usopp. The two elders were having a discussion she couldn't hear from where she stood, while the teenager was apparently doing some kind of trade with the Skypieans. _Rubber bands for dials...?_

In the corner of her eyes, Eli saw Robin and, as she set her gaze on the archaeologist, she saw her disappearing behind a group of trees.

As Eli stared at the trees where the woman was last seen, the Suntan girl remembered the discussion she had with her a couple of days ago. Apparently Robin had some information about Suta. Maybe she could answer the question that Ace had brought up the previous night. That question that never before she had dare formulate.

"_Who attacked your island ?"_

Resolutely, Eli strode in the direction of the jungle as well...

"Hey Twig !"

… Her resolve diminishing in strength as Ace joined her.

"Miss Chronicler ?"

Now looking at her feet, Eli took a deep breath. Because of the discussion she had with Ace the previous night, the Sutan girl had decided to face the ghosts of her past, after all, she wasn't alone anymore.

"Robin." Eli walked up to the archaeologist's side. "You said you made some investigations about... Suta."

Hearing the name of the girl's homeland, the black-haired woman's face showed a hint of emotion, surprise maybe. Silently, she looked at Ace over her shoulder before setting her deep gaze back on Eli's.

"It's okay." The girl nodded. "He knows."

"And what do you want to know ?" Robin asked.

Eli cleared her throat as she started to walk, motioning the archaeologist to do the same.

"Do you know who attacked Suta ?"

For a silent moment, Robin thoughtfully gazed in Eli's eyes. "The World Government."

Obviously, this was a surprise for Eli, and her face didn't conceal that emotion. "Do you know why ?" she asked.

"The reports stated that Suta was a threat for the World's peace." Robin said calmly. "Sutans were said to be anarchists that were fomenting a rebellion and that they were forming a powerful army in secret to achieve their goals."

Speechless and utterly bewildered, Eli felt her Sutan blood boiling. _What a lie_. Sutans had exiled themselves in order to protect the world from the destructive power of Rokushiki. Did the World Government misread their intentions ?

Eli didn't notice that she had stopped walking. Lost in the thoughts, she had also failed to notice that her two fellow crewmates were now looking at her. Wordlessly, she started into space while chewing her bottom lip. Maybe they were right... Maybe Rokushiki was too dangerous, and that even in spite of the Sutan's will to keep it secret-

"Twig ?"

"Ah !" Eli started and looked around at the two black-haired pirates who were observing her. "Sorry ! Where were you going Robin ?"

"The Shandians have found the Golden bell..." Robin looked in the distance. "I wanted to see it."

"Let's go then," Ace said.

After a few minutes, the pirates arrived at the edge of Upper Yard. They could see the beanstalk that had fallen the day before. It was lying on the ground and overhanging into the White-White sea. On the shore, two dozen Shandians were pulling the Golden bell on the soil of the island.

As they stared at the shiny bell, a clamor elevated from the crowd. Amazed, Eli remained speechless. It was bigger than she had imagined it would be. At the feet of a large pedestal made of gold, she could see three large pillars, the fourth was lying on the ground, and up the stairs, two larger pillars were holding the magnificent, golden bell.

After a moment of silent observation, Eli turned around to look at her crewmates. Ace was staring at the bell, a large grin of pride plastered on his face while Robin looked more interested by the pedestal, or most likely, at a series of inscriptions engraved in the yellow metal.

"It's the tablet that our ancestors sacrificed themselves to protect..!" One of the Shandians said. "There seem to be some writing on it, chief."

"I cannot decipher this ancient language," the Shandians' chief said. "But that's not important because-"

"_Before the heart of truth there is no need for words_," Robin read aloud, causing the bewildered Shandians to shift their attention toward the archaeologist. "_We are the recorders of history, existing in harmony with sound of the great bell._"

"Can you really decipher that ancient language...?" The chief of the Shandians asked.

Wordlessly, Eli looked at Ace questioningly. What was so mysterious about an archaeologist that could read ancient inscribing ? But the black-haired pirate only shrugged, apparently, as clueless as the girl.

Without answering the chief, Robin took a few steps toward the pedestal, a grave look darkening her beautiful face.

"_The ancient weapon with the power so strong that it was name after the God 'Poseidon'..._" the archaeologist trailed off, disappointment lowering her warm voice.

While -now quiet- Robin stared at the ancient writing, a loud clamor rose from the Shandians. The word 'weapon' echoing on the Upper Yard.

"Was that what you were talking about ?" Eli quietly asked Ace.

"I guess it is." The young pirate nodded. "Maybe the people of Ohara were the only ones who could read those instructions and maybe... maybe the World Government considered it was a threat for them."

Sadness and pain spreading inside of her with her every heartbeat, Eli shifted her gaze onto the archaeologist; they had so much in common, so much, yet they were so different. Was that why Robin had been wanted since such a young age ? She carried the fault of her people on her back, as well as their deaths, and she was all alone.

Something akin to disappointment painted across her face, Robin turned around to leave.

"Wait !" A Shandian called out. "There're some words on the side. Did you see them ?"

As she looked over her shoulder and let her gaze travel into the direction the Shandian was pointing to, Robin seemed petrified. With wide eyes, she stared at a little inscribing carved next to the ancient tablet.

"What is it Robin ?" Ace asked walking up to his crewmate.

"_We came here, found the text and followed its guidance._" she read aloud the words that were as undecipherable as the rest of the text. "_... Gol D. Roger._"

Hearing Ace gasp, Eli looked at her lover. The bewildered look that was on Robin's face, was now on his. Thoughtfully, the girl remembered the night that the freckled pirate and her had shared in Alabasta. His father... the father he hated so much... With wide-open eyes, the young man stared at the words his father had written years ago when he had tread this very ground.

"Roger you say ?" Gan Fall asked from behind the pirates.

"Do you know him ?" Robin took a few steps in direction of the knight.

"Twenty years ago there was such a guest on Sky island."

Ace's face was tensed and so was his jaw.

"He said that he was a pirate of the blue sea."

As she stared at her lover, Eli didn't know what to say, what to do.

"Hey Miss, that boy wearing a straw hat..." Gan Fall said. "He reminds me of Roger. Are they related ?"

Like a shot, Ace spun on his heels and strode away.

"Freckles !" Eli called out, running after him under the surprised eyes of their black-haired crewmate. "Hey ! Wait !"

But Ace didn't answer. His boots kicking hard the ground of the Upper Ward's jungle, he took long steps in a vigorous way, as if he didn't know that the girl was following him.

Planting her steps in his, Eli felt pain awakening in the muscles of her legs, and with that burning and swelling sensation, Chopper's warning came back to her mind. She wasn't allowed to use her powers and apparently, her very body was on the little doctor's side.

"Hey, wait up !" She yelled, and that probably for the first time of her life. Eli took grip of his arm but this didn't stop the young man. "What's wrong ?"

With a grunt, he shook his arm to tear off the girl's grip.

"ACE !" Eli yelled, anger and frustration spreading in the air as she did so.

Within a few minutes, they reached the Merry. Ace jumped aboard the ship and roughly threw his bag away. Utterly puzzled by the young man's attitude, Eli stared at him as he prepared the ship for its impending departure.

"I thought you hated him !" Eli said loudly. "At least Gan Fall didn't compare him to you !"

"You.." Ace glared at the rope in his hands. "You won't understand anyway," he muttered.

"Then tell me !"

"I DON'T KNOW !" Ace barked, startling the girl as he did.

Slowly, Eli put her hands on his; they were trembling. "Tell me Ace," she said softly.

"It's... It's just..." Now calmer, Ace set his dark eyes on Eli's green ones. "I wanted to be different... and now, I learn that I'm walking in his steps."

"But you are different..." Eli lifted her hand to his cheek.

"How do you know that ?" Ace argued, pain and fear stirring in his eyes. "Maybe I'm a demon just like him !"

"Are you stupid ?" Eli pressed her body against his and gently caressed his cheek. "A freckled demon ? Impossible." She smiled.

A faint smile made its way to his lips as Ace gazed and Eli. "_You're_ stupid," he whispered.

"Listen... Maybe we are all demons. Maybe I was meant to die with Suta because we represent a threat for the World... I don't know... but... but I love this life..."

It felt so unfair then. The guilt; it stung on the girl's insides. Were they meant to bear the sins of there ancestors on their shoulders ? They only wanted to be free. Within the warm embrace of her lover, Eli let melancholy wash over the both of them.

"It's so unfair... We didn't do anything wrong, Ace."

Silently, Ace tightened his embrace on her thin body. "I know..."

Demon, anarchist, weapon, threat... The entire world seemed to be against them at this instant; bitterness spoiling their dreams of freedom. Unfair...

It was then that they heard them, their crewmates, their _family_. Slowly, the two pirates looked in the direction of their yells. They were all here, running toward them, large smiles plastered on their faces. Luffy was laughing and his belly laughter echoed all over Upper Yard and in the hearts of the two pirates.

No, they did nothing wrong, they just wanted to live their lives; pirate lives... freer than anybody.

to be continued

* * *

**Betaed by charmedward.**

_-You can now go read Twig 19-_

_Happy new year everyone :)_

_Have you made your resolutions ? As for me, working on Freckles is definitely one one them.  
Please 2011, give me creativity, time, and productivity. Give me focus and protect me from the sluggishness._

_I wish I gave you a more light-hearted chapter to start the year with but it'll have to wait for next week. I'll be working on it as soon as I published this one._

_Despite the heaviness, I hope you enjoyed it and I hope I'll see you very soon._


	79. Cloudy Days

**Freckles 79  
****Cloudy Days**

As usual, the pirates had left without looking back. Their hearts and minds filled with the memories of their encounters on the Sky Islands, they sailed away.

As they has reached the cloud's end, the Merry fell into the air until a high whistling sound beckoned a large Octopus to catch them during their fall. Its tentacles wrapped around the little ship, the sky mollusk inflated itself. And as they watched the Cumulonimbus gradually disappearing in the whiteness of the sky, their slow course down toward the blue sea was accompanied by the smiles of Pagaya and Conis as well as with the magnificent golden sound of the bell of Shandia.

A deep sigh left Eli's mouth as she laid down on the wooden deck. The weather was fair, and as the warm rays of the sun caressed her skin, the girl felt with content that she was, at last, at home.

While her green eyes were lazily clinging on the azure blue scattered with white clouds, the chronicler listened absently to the begging of her crewmates. They were gathered around a big pile of shiny artifacts -their loot retrieved from the giant snake's stomach- chalices, jewelries, statuettes among other things were making a lovely shiny pile.

As Eli rolled her head to the side, she saw that Ace was peacefully sleeping not too far from her. He was leaning against the main mast, his bright hat partly covering his face. Narrowing her eyes, the girl tried to find out if he was really asleep. Too many times she had suspected the narcoleptic to fake his sleep. His intents were unknown and his means truly frustrating.

As her keen gaze trailed down his body, the girl felt her heartbeats increasing. Her temperature rose as her heart pumped hot blood throughout her body. Ace was wearing a short-sleeved shirt. Light yellow was the color of the fabric which was quietly fluttering on his skin. As she listened to those flutters, all the other sounds around Eli were gradually muffled. She could hear blood thudding in her ears, in her head, in her breasts, and lower, in her gut... in the hollowness he touched.

His hands. As she gazed at his large hands, Eli could almost feel them on her skin. It was tingling with excitation. Crackling; it wanted to be touched again.

His chest. She could feel hers throbbing as in her mind an exciting flickering of images played. When he had pushed himself inside of her, searing her desire with the exquisite invasion of his all inside of her-

"Eli."

"Ah !" The girl's face snapped to the other side, feeling it flushed and burning as she looked at Nami.

"Eli, your pearl..." The navigator said hesitantly.

"What ?" The girl lifted her head to glance at her pearl before letting it fall back on the deck, wincing as the little thud caused wave of pain to wash over inside of her head. At least it cleared from the though pertaining to what she has been fantasizing about. "The sun is warming it, that's why it glows."

"No..." The redhead got closer and crouched to her crewmates' side. "It's moving."

_Moving...?_ With a furrowed brow, Eli rested her upper body on her elbows. Puzzled, she observed her pearl as she lifted her wrist to eye level. It was moving. Faintly, it was balancing, drawing an odd diagonal.

Further puzzled by the pearl's odd behavior, Eli shook her wrist. The brisk movement affected the pearl sway before it gradually balanced in the same direction.

"It acts like a pendulum," Robin said.

Surprised by the archaeologist's sudden appearance, Eli's gaze shifted from her pearl to the woman.

"It's a Firefly, yes ?" Robin asked, her eyes, focus on the shiny pendulum.

"Yes, it glows when warmed," Eli said.

"It's not the only thing it does. In the past Fireflies were used to find people," Robin explained. "But this kind of pearl is very rare, and as Vivre Cards were invented, their usage was forgotten."

"Vivre cards ?"

"Vivre card are pieces of paper linked to one person's life line. It can also show the direction to follow to find the person to whom it is linked to."

Thoughtfully, Eli observed the Firefly. It was the first time it had behaved of the sort. "It's pointing toward Zoro..."

"Uh..?" The swordsman looked at the pearl as well, one of his eyebrows going up.

"It is not actually meant to point at a person," Robin said as she walked to the pile of treasures salvaged from the snake's stomach. "It is linked to another pearl."

As the archaeologist got a box out of the pile and opened it, the pirates awed at the sight of another pearl. A black one.

"Robin is so smaaaart~" Sanji said, swooning at the woman.

"Why isn't it moving ?" Chopper asked.

Silently, Robin took the black pearl out of the box, revealing a thin silver chain. She held the pearl by its chain and closed her hand on it.

As she uncurled her gracious fingers from around it, the crew uttered a well synchronized 'oooh' while gazing at the pearl; it was shining bright red. Slowly, it swayed in the direction of Eli's green one.

"Why... why didn't my pearl started moving before ?" the chronicler asked, her green gaze lost in the crimson light of the pearl.

"I suppose that they aren't linked together. But it was still showing the way to the closest potential partner."

The pirates stared silently at the pearls as the two women gradually got closer. The swaying increased until they touched. Immobile... as if magnetized, they clung onto each other, red light mixing with green.

The archaeologist let go of the chain in Eli's hand and stood up. "Now they are," Robin said with a little smile on her lips.

Wordlessly, the green eyed girl gazed at the two balls of faint light swaying -now with more vigor- toward each other. Was her pearl waiting for a partner all this time ? Eli felt the corner of her lips curling up into a smile as she watched the two pearls.

Slightly dazed, she uttered a gasp as a hand grabbed the black pearl from her hold.

"It must be worth quite some money," Nami said thoughtfully.

At that, Eli felt her heart wrenching a little. Separating the two pearls, if childish, seemed rather unfair to her eyes. They had waited so long to meet and, after a short embrace, they were going to be separated.

"But-"

"But maybe it could be somehow useful to us." Nami interrupted. "Zoro could use it when he's lost."

The green haired swordsman grumbled. "I don't get _lost_," he said. "I don't need your stupid pearl."

"If _no one_ wants it, we'll sell it then."

"Nami," Ace called out from behind Eli, a smirk appearing on the redhead's face on the spot.

"Yes, Ace ?" Nami replied in a syrupy voice.

"Can I have that pearl ?"

"Oh..." The smirk she sported grew a little more devious as Nami stared at Ace. "Sure," she said.

A little chaos ensued. After this brief and surprising act of generosity, the greedy redhead was unwaveringly refusing the multiple and annoying demands of the rest of the pirates; they all wanted a share of the treasure.

A smile on his face, Ace heated up the dark pearl, making it glow brightly. It seemed that the hotter it was, stronger was the pearl's attraction for its pair.

"Eh, I'll always find you with that," Ace said.

"Sometimes you act just like a girl, Freckles." Eli stuck the tip of her tongue out as Ace looked at her questioningly.

"Well..."

A corner of his lips curled up while Ace leaned closer to Eli. His breath caressing her ear, the girl felt her heart beating. They weren't alone, they could be seen and he was aware of that... right ?

"At least one of us is..."

"... what ?"

* * *

_Second day after our departure from Skypiea. The weather has been rather unstable and so was a part of the crew. Since our cook wasn't able to fill our food stocks, hunger prevails with the loud growling of Luffy's stomach._

_The previous night, our captain tried to raid the fridge and thankfully, Sanji caught him on time. As a punishment, he locked him into a box... It took Luffy some time to lose his square shape._

_

* * *

_

Eli grabbed a lock of hair that had escaped her messy mane with a strong salty breeze. Absently, she put the strand behind her ear while her eyes glided upon the last lines of her logbook.

Lately the weather had been so cold and dark that, at the first glimpse of a clear, azure sky, the pirates rushed onto the ship's deck to enjoy the gentle warmth of the sun while they filled their lungs with fresh salty air.

The chronicler sighed as she let the tip of her pen tap on her page. Ever since the ship's doctor had prevented her to use her fruit's abilities, Eli had found it hard to write. Her brain was now back to its normal speed -meaning faster than anyone's- but her hands were restrained. As if she was chained within invisible kairoseki shackles, she was unable to use her full potential. It had been so many years during which her body had been the host of those devilish powers, and now, she had to ignore them. It was heavy and draining.

Eli's eyelids were heavy. Maybe she could sleep. It seemed that it was all she could do lately. Sleep and eat while waiting for Chopper to unlocked the chains so that she could be herself again.

"You're becoming lazy."

"Uh..?" Dazedly, Eli's green eyes trailed up to meet with the figure of a man swinging an incredible amount of weights attached to a long metal bar.

A vague grunt was Zoro's only reply as the girl set her questioning gaze on him.

"I'm not lazy..." Eli sighed again, frustration stirring inside of her as the swordsman's attack gripped her guts.

Zoro's breaths were loud and regular. They filled the girl's ears along with the sound of his barbell cutting through the air. Lazy ? She wasn't lazy. Eli had been stripped of all of her powers and now all she could do was wait for Chopper's approval to use them again. Find her true self again.

"What can I do ?" Annoyed, Eli briskly closed her book and stood up. "I can't use my powers anyway," she said as she turned around to leave.

"And that's it ?" Zoro put his barbell down and started stretching his arms, his back turned to Eli as she looked at him over her shoulder. "What is left once your powers are gone ? Nothing ?"

His tone of voice was tainted with disdain, more than usually, and his words... Was that true ? Eli had taken her powers for granted for so long. Instead of being a part of her, they defined her. She was the fastest being in the world, she was faster that anything, but was it all that she was ?

At that moment and for the first time, Eli felt hate against her fruit and against herself. Wordlessly, she clenched her fist on her log book. She was more than that, she had to be. Ace was strong before the devil's fire invaded his body, Sanji and Zoro were some of the most powerful fighters she had ever seen. Usopp didn't need any fruit to be such an amazing sharp shooter...

"Teach me," Eli found herself saying, surprised at her own demand.

"Mmh ?" Zoro looked over his shoulder, his questioning gaze meeting with sharp green eyes.

"Teach me how to be stronger Zoro," Eli said. "Please."

The green haired young man turned around completely and studied the girl's figure. He did not utter a word while his eyes glided over her skinny body. Eli could almost feel her muscles flinching under his gaze. He was judging her, of that she was sure.

After what seemed like a few long minutes, Zoro turned around, and picked up a small pair of barbells. Without a word, he handed them to Eli.

The girl tilted her head to the side questioningly. "What do you want me to do with _those_ ?"

Zoro rolled his eyes a bit as he pushed the barbells a bit further in Eli's direction. Apparently, he wanted her to hold them.

With a sigh, Eli stretched out her arms and almost fell on the swordsman as he dropped the weights in her hands.

"The hell !" Eli winced as she tried to keep her body straight.

"You want to become stronger ?" Zoro asked coldly. "Then you have to make your body stronger."

It started like that. With a nod, Eli accepted the swordsman's training. With a simple nod, she agreed to his terms and methods. With a simple and stupid nod, the nightmare began...

* * *

_Fifth day on the open sea. Today it snowed. Sadly, Zoro didn't allow me to skip the training and enjoy the white miracle. Only until Usopp and Luffy declared a snow war on us, though. Without speed, I am an easy target but it seems that my aim has improved. Overall, it was a good day and Chopper seemed happy._

* * *

A whine managed to escape the girl's mouth despite the profound state of weariness she was in. Vaguely she felt something on her arm and as her eyes lazily trailed to the side, Eli saw Chopper bandaging one of the multiple cuts scattered all over her body.

"Aren't you being a little too harsh Zoro ?" The little doctor asked.

"She'll survive," the swordsman said.

_Really...? _After four days of training, Eli could barely feel anything else other than pain stirring throughout her body. It was as if it was nothing more than a giant bruise.

Looking back, the weight lifting seemed almost easy. Now Zoro had started the _real_ training: the sparring matches... A lot of them. A part of Eli's training, the hardest part actually, was to quiet the devil living inside of her. Every time the swordsman attempted to lay a blow on her, the devil awakened. Its power spread through her limbs, urging the girl to evade, as fast as she could.

But Eli wanted to control the devil inside of her. Call for him when she needed, she wanted to tame it.

"Turn around Eli."

With a long whine, Eli dragged her body around and lay down on the kitchen table's bench. As the wood came in contact with her back, the girl winced in pain.

As gently as possible, Chopper rubbed some lotion on the girl's aching ribs. In spite of the pain, in spite of the bruises, Eli was somehow, satisfied. After only four days of major beating up, she could already feel the improvements.

"_You react to my attacks when you should predict them._"

Zoro was harsh, he was direct, and he was right. He was the first person that seemed to see the qualities behind the fruit. Overall, he was the first that seemed to show interest in training the girl, and so, in spite of the pain and fatigue, of that she was grateful.

Once Chopper had finished patching up Eli, the diner was served. The whole crew filled their stomachs with delicious dishes while trying to protect their plates from their captain's greed.

"What kind of weather is that...?" Nami muttered as she looked through the window. "The snow has stopped already."

A concerned look on her face, she walked over to the lounge's door and stepped outside to gaze at the sky.

"What's wrong Nami ?" Ace asked.

"A storm is coming," she said. "Nothing serious but someone should guard the ship tonight."

"I'll do it," Ace offered.

The redhead nodded absently while gazing thoughtfully at the cloudy mass boiling in the sky. "Those clouds are strange..." she said quietly.

* * *

Once their hunger was satisfied, the pirates lazily occupied themselves waiting for sleep to fall upon them. Nami was working on her maps and, next to her, Robin was reading a really thick book. Ace had left for his watch duty and Zoro went to bed early. On the floor, Usopp was working on Nami's weapon, apparently annoyed at the ruckus Luffy and Chopper made as they played cards together. Sanji was washing the dishes, and since the cook refused her help, Eli decided to work a bit on her logbook before the details of the Straw Hats' adventures in the country in the sky further vanished from her mind.

As she wrote down the words describing Enel and Luffy's battle just like they had been told to her by Nami, Eli could feel energy going through her revitalized limbs again. Sanji's cook skills were truly amazing. It seemed that he always served the girl exactly what her body needed.

Chopper's medicinal skills were also praiseworthy. After less than an hour, the pain had reduced tremendously. As she stretched out her limbs with a long moan, Eli wondered if she should go to bed already. Obviously, Zoro's training was far from reaching its end and the girl would need all of the energy she could save to survive through the next day.

"I'm off to bed," Eli said as she closed her book.

The rest of the crew decided to call it a night as well, except for Robin who stayed behind and enjoyed a freshly made coffee that Sanji served her.

As they went out of the lounge room, Eli's eyes went in search for Ace; she wanted to see him. After all, she was his girlfriend and so, just like any girlfriend, the girl reckoned that it was normal for her to want to see him before going to bed.

It was so strange though. With every step she took in direction of the prow, Eli felt her heart pounding a bit faster. Not only did she want to see him, she also and above all, _needed_ to see him. His figure appeared clearer as distance shortened, Ace was sitting on the inner railing, the cloak he was wearing covering his body from the cold; the girl rubbed her arms rapidly as a night breeze bit on her skin.

"Hey..." she said, a bit weaker than intended.

Turning his head around to look at her, a large smile brightened Ace's freckled face as he looked at Eli. "Twig !" he said as he jumped down from the railing to meet with the girl.

"I'm going to bed," Eli said. "Do you need something ?"

"Mhmh." Ace slowly shook his head.

He did though, or at least he _wanted_ something. Gently, Ace wrapped his hands around Eli's cold arms and as he pulled her closer to him, the girl vaguely heard a 'you're cold' reaching her ears. His face was close to hers, the dark-eyed pirate glanced over to the deck before shifting his gaze back to that of his wordless lover.

The moment before his lips touched hers, Eli felt her excitement thundering inside of her. Was that the normal effect a kiss had ? And then, the warmth. It spread all over her, and inside. Did he feel that too ?

This was so new to her.

It wasn't the place nor the time to do what Ace obviously had in mind though, what his warmth awoke in Eli's too. A part of her wanted to fight, because they could be seen, because she was tired, but above all, because she had her pride. The hunt and fight, the game of seduction, it didn't stop once the two lovers found themselves becoming a couple. The fear of not being enough for him either. Eli wanted to be exciting, she wanted to be desired, and she definitely wanted their relationship to last.

"Not now," Eli said firmly as she turned around and crossed her arms over her thudding chest.

Weak was her grasp on her resolve and Ace's warm hands holding her small shoulders prevented her from walking away. Therefore she remained there, in his hands, while staring in the darkness until a flash of lightning struck the horizon, thunder roaring in her ears a second later.

Rain fell on the two lovers. In the dark night, in the middle of the ocean, they were drenched on the spot. Taken off guard, Eli threw her leg forward in an attempt to find shelter in the Merry, only to find herself held back by two strong arms.

"Eh..?" she uttered stupidly as she looked at Ace who, oddly, hadn't move.

The black haired pirate was smiling. He took his orange hat off his head and placed it on Eli's soaked hair. His other hand pulling her in his direction, the girl obediently complied and pressed her back on his warm chest. Who could resist such a delightful invitation ?

Water was crashing all around them and Ace drank to his heart's content as he sucked Eli's nape, right where her tattoo stood. From that precise spot, electrifying waves raced throughout her body, just like the thunder in the air that surrounded them. They beckoned little moans that she couldn't force down no matter how much she wanted to.

The air that was so cold a few seconds ago; it turned warm and then.. hot. Almost suffocating as the rain drops running on the flame user's skin turned into steam.

Eli's pants were hard as she felt the man behind her burning with passion; she was imprisoned in his searing desire. A power beyond her understanding; his touch was enough to throw her thousands of meters away, into the skies, within the boiling clouds. How…?

The two lovers were obviously too absorbed with each other to be prepared to what happened then, chuckle tinted above the crashing of water, and the steamy atmosphere turned cold. The childish laugh floated in the lovers ears, striking the two pirates with surprise on the spot.

They looked around with wide eyes, trying to make out a figure behind the curtain of rain falling all around them.

"Who's there ?" Eli yelled out before turning around to face Ace. "Was it Chopper ?"

"I'm not sure..."

"Usopp ? Luffy ?" Who else could utter such a childish chuckle ?

Like it came, the rain stopped, revealing a clear night sky. But in spite of the light that the moon cast gently on the little ship, the two pirates couldn't find the mischievous voyeur. Eli felt that she was being watched though and as she found her eyes staring at the ship's figure head, a strange idea made its way to her mind. _What if...?_

… _Impossible_. Eli shook her head, rain drops slipping from her hair as she did. A smile on her face, the pirate girl gazed at the sheep's head. _It would be nice though..._

to be continued

* * *

**Betaed by charmedward.**

_Hey..._

_I'm sorry it took me too long to update. I just don't find time nor energy anymore. I couldn't even reply to the reviews (except the ones that had questions). Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and that you still enjoy the whole story. If it weren't for you I'm not sure I would still try my best to find time to write._

_Zoro training Eli ? Good for her. Our girl needs to improve obviously._

_The last part is an -obvious- hint of Merry's soul's presence within on the ship. After that little event, our two lovers found it hard to enjoy heated moment on board :P Thank fully, they will soon reach an island._

_And the next chapter will best the start of my first original Arc. I hope you will enjoy it and that it'll be fun for me to write._

_See you -hopefully- soon :)_


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